


Casualty

by La5021



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Grey's Anatomy AU, bi!mess kara danvers, cardio alex, gay!mess lena luthor, just saying, lena luthor would make an awesome mcdreamy, neuro lena, no powers au, ortho maggie, paeds kara, they're both pretty badass surgeons, this is gonna be very gay, this is literally the pilot for grey's
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 00:37:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11543769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/La5021/pseuds/La5021
Summary: "Stop looking at me like that.""Like what?""Like you've seen me naked."orThe Grey's Anatomy AU where both Kara and Lena are badass surgeons.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been binge watching Grey's Anatomy all week, because that's what you do when you graduate and I've had this stuck in my head. All mistakes are my own and I have borrowed some of the dialogue from the pilot episode. But hope you enjoy!

The bar is loud and the floors sticky. Kara can barely hear herself think over the pounding bass of whatever music is playing, some top 200 song that sounds just like every other song on the radio. Heather, as the owner had introduced herself, is friendly and attentive, making sure none of the patrons get overly handsy with her and she appreciates it as she finishes off her second glass of chardonnay.  From what Kara can tell from the rowdy group at a table behind her, the bar must be popular with the hospital staff from across the road and she can see why. It has its charms what with the dark hardwood floors that could probably do with a thorough cleaning and the framed music posters that hang on the walls. The jukebox in the corner has clearly been put to good use as the music switches to something Kara actually recognises.

Kara likes the atmosphere and she can definitely see herself coming here after a long shift at the hospital. She waves one of the bartenders over.

“What can I get for you, beautiful?”

Kara, in spite of herself, blushes. “I’ll have a large glass of chardonnay, please.”

“Coming right up.” The bartender smiles charmingly at her and she supposes that he expects her to swoon at the sight of his dimples. He’s tall and attractive enough; Kara does have a thing for a strong jawline, but other than that he’s just not her type. He looks like a frat boy and Kara dated enough jocks throughout both high school and college to know to never go near one again.

“Here you go,” he says, placing the wineglass on a napkin. “Shall I put it on your tab?”

“Yes-“

“No need. It’s on me,” Kara hears from behind. The voice is soft and it immediately sends shivers of delight down Kara’s spine.

A woman takes the available seat next to Kara and grins at her. Kara gapes and stares at her a little in awe. Sure, she’s been hit on by plenty women before, but never one as beautiful as this.

“You- You’re- I’m...” Really, Kara. Really? That’s the best you can do?

“You’re welcome.” The woman radiates amusement and Kara’s helpless, utterly helpless because here is an absolutely gorgeous woman, who could clearly have her pick of anyone at the bar sitting next to one Kara Danvers and smiling charmingly at her, green eyes sparkling with delight at Kara’s awkward stuttering.

Kara pushes her glasses up. “Sorry, I ramble when I’m nervous.”

“I make you nervous?” The woman grins again and leans back against the bar, legs crossed. She did that on purpose and Kara takes a sip of her wine, grateful for the sudden chill in her throat, because she’s completely lost hers.

“Why- I- Yes, yes you do. You’re insanely pretty and I’m me.” Kara blushes and she really can’t believe she’s said that aloud. _You’re insanely pretty?_ She has zero game and Alex would be so disappointed in her. She’s a disappointment to bisexuals everywhere.

“Don’t be,” the woman says, placing her hand on top of Kara’s. “And definitely don’t sell yourself short. You’re easily the most gorgeous woman in this bar.” The woman slowly rakes her eyes up and down Kara’s body for emphasis, winking when she finally meets Kara’s eyes once more.

Ok, is it suddenly hot in here? Or is it just her? Kara tugs at the collar of her shirt, unbuttoning the first two buttons. Where on earth is Alex? She was supposed to be here ages ago.

“If you’re going to take your shirt off, I’d rather be on a first name basis. I’m Lena.”

Holy hell. A name. Kara has a name and it’s a pretty good name, if she does say so herself.

“Uhm.” Is all that comes out.

Lena raises an eyebrow, a small smirk adorning her lips. “Well, _Uhm_ , it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Oh god, she’s making fun of her. Say something, damn it.

“Kara,” she somehow manages to say, in between choking on her own words and air itself. “My name is Kara.” Lena’s smile widens if at all possible and Kara very nearly faints.

“I like it. It suits you.”

“I like you.” What was that? She’s not here, but Maggie is somewhere out there face-palming.

Kara can’t be sure in the bar’s dim lighting, but Lena’s cheeks do seem to take on a slight pink tint and Lena ducks her head, averting her eyes for a moment. Just a moment and then she’s back to her confident self. “What a coincidence. I like you as well.”

And then a man, all broad shoulders and toothy smiles, walks up to the pair and leans far too close to comfort to Kara, enough for her to smell the stench of stale beer and bad scotch in his breath. He angles in between the two women, propping himself up against the bar and stares far too intently at Kara’s lips.

“Heeeeeeeey, pretty lady. Can I buy you a drink?” The words are far too slurred to make out, but Kara gets the gist of it.

“She already has one.” The tone Lena uses is pure steel and lord if it isn’t doing something to her.

The man seems to have finally noticed Lena’s presence and his smile widens even further. “Can I buy you a drink then? Or both of you? Let’s make it a party.”

“No, thank you. I think we’ll be alright,” Kara says, as calmly as she can manage. She’s really not in the mood for this and from the quick glance she shares with Lena over the guy’s shoulder, neither is she.

The man scoffs and nearly loses his balance as he tries to stand upright. “Please, you’d both love a bit of _this_.”

“I doubt it, but how about this,” Lena bargains, giving Kara’s leg a light squeeze and a look that clearly says ‘I’ve got this. “We ask the lovely Heather for some tequila and the first one to down all their shots, wins the hand of the enchanting Kara. Deal?”

The man laughs, but readily agrees; no doubt in his mind that he’s going to absolutely crush Lena. His friends join in, but Kara sees the way Lena’s jaw sets and the way she squares her shoulders. Heather lines up fourteen shots along the bar and it’s over before it really begins. As soon as the words ‘Go’ are uttered, Lena downs the first one and then the next. By the time the guy reaches his fourth, Lena’s already finished and is smiling smugly at Kara, cheeks flushed. 

“I think that means I win?”

The guy is dragged away by his friends, pride wounded and shouting to everyone who’d bother listening that she’d cheated.

“Kara, _darling_. Shot?”

Tequila? Oh, no, no, no. The last time Kara drank tequila was after finishing med school and Alex had cracked open a bottle she’d been saving for that very occasion. She doesn’t remember precisely what had happened, but Kara’s seen enough photographic and video proof to know that she should stay away from that particular drink. Never, ever again.

 “I probably shouldn’t-“

“Please. For me?”

Let it be clear that Kara usually has excellent self-control. She is completely immune to Alex’s pathetic attempt at puppy dog eyes, and Maggie’s dimples. But to this, to this she is not. Lena is dangerously close to her, their faces mere inches apart and suddenly the tequila is a good idea.

“Ok, just one.”

One turns into five and soon enough Kara is licking salt from Lena’s wrist and sucking the lime from her lips as the tequila burns its way down her throat. Her heart is basically threatening to burst from her chest and her head is spinning, but it’s a pleasant kind of buzz and she’s relishing the closeness to Lena and the way her body is practically moulding to fit next to hers. Kara attempts to grab another shot, but a delicate hand stops her.

“I think you’ve had enough, don’t you?” Lena says, grinning at Kara’s disgruntled expression. In truth Heather had cut them both off, but she doesn’t think either one had heard her.

“Nope,” Kara says, popping the ‘p’ like a child. Lena laughs and Kara can’t help but marvel at the simple musicality of Lena’s laugh. It’s her new favourite sound. It’s like potstickers, pizza and ice-cream all rolled into one. If they had a sound, that is. Kara threads her fingers through Lena’s hair and it’s silky and so, so soft and dark, like the sky! Just like the midnight sky and she wonders why she hadn’t noticed earlier. It’s just so soft.

Lena tugs a little on Kara’s shirt to get her to stand and _whoa_ , standing is so much _fun_. Who knew that? And Lena, god, Lena is looking so kissable right now. She’s kind of been staring at her lips all night and she’s been so close, inching closer as the hours went by. Did sucking a lime from her mouth count as kissing? Kara doesn’t think so and as soon as they leave the bar, the pair of them swaying like the drunken idiots they are, Kara leans in to kiss Lena properly.

It’s messy and sloppy and everything Kara thought it would be. Lena’s hands are running up and down her sides and Kara can’t think. Her brain has actually short-circuited and as they pull apart, panting and pupils completely blown Kara wonders what on earth she’s been doing with her life when she could’ve been kissing Lena.

“Do you- do you want to come home with me?” Kara says then, suddenly shy. Her heart is beating so fast, but Lena’s is the same. They’re facing each other, barely a width apart and Lena kisses her in response.

Ok, she can do that.

They stumble out of a cab a while later, throwing far too much money at the taxi driver who tells them to enjoy their night. The lift up to Alex’s apartment is pure torture and by the time they reach Alex’s apartment, Kara is aching to touch Lena in any way she can and Lena clearly feels the same because she presses Kara against the door and trails a path of searing kisses along the column of Kara’s neck as she fumbles with her keys.

“Are you sure we-“ _Kiss_. “Maybe we should-“ _Kiss_. “ _Oh, screw it_.”

The door slams shut behind them and Kara just about manages to guide them to the couch. She can barely keep track of her own thoughts, her mind already hazy with everything and anything that is the dark-haired woman sprawled on top of her, trailing deliciously mind-numbing kisses along the side of her jaw. Kara gasps when Lena finds a particularly sweet spot just behind her earlobe and then proceeds to bite down none too gently, drawing out another gasp from Kara.

Emboldened by the heat that is steadily pooling low in her stomach because of the way Lena is nipping, sucking and soothing her skin with tantalising flicks of a devilish tongue, Kara flips them, both surprising and exciting the woman now beneath her. Lena’s hands fist at the back of Kara’s shirt, nails clawing at the fabric as Kara forcefully presses their lips back together, eliciting an unexpected moan from Lena that is smothered almost immediately when Kara pries open welcoming lips with her tongue.

Wandering hands creep along the hem of Kara’s untucked and rumpled shirt, pale fingers skimming the skin of her lower back. Kara’s own hands tangle in Lena’s hair and she once again marvels at its softness.

Lena flips them again.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Sunlight is streaming through the room, peaking lazily through the blinds as Kara stirs from sleep. Her neck feels stiff, as though she’s slept funny on it all night and that would make sense because she’s currently lying on Alex’s couch. _Naked_. The extremely uncomfortable couch Alex bought for her first apartment when she was a struggling student, ambling her way through med school. As she rubs at her neck, wincing when she hits a particularly hard knot, she wonders why on earth Alex still has it. She can certainly afford a much better one now.

That’s when she hears it, through the pounding of her head (she is _so_ regretting that last tequila shot).

A soft groan and the shuffling of cushions. Oh. _Oh_. That would explain the nakedness and why she’s feeling both sore and as light as a feather. Ok, well Alex is going to kill her if she finds out. _When_ she finds out. She kind of has a sixth sense about these kinds of things. And, oh god, she- _they_ did it on the couch. Kara has never been more grateful that Alex bailed on her last night to do god knows what, but thankfully that didn’t involve returning to her apartment.

A dark head pops up from the carpeted floor, raven hair sticking up in all directions. The woman’s face is scrunched up as if she doesn’t quite remember how she got there, but then she spots Kara eyeing her, roving over every expanse of exposed flesh and it all comes flooding back to her. The bar, the tequila, the kisses, even _more_ kisses. The woman grabs a pillow and holds it against her chest, shooting Kara a wry grin.

“This is, uh, humiliating on so many levels,” the woman says and all Kara can do is chuckle nervously and run a hand through her own tangled blonde mess. She’s doing her best not to just _stare_. “But also fun, so why don’t you come back over here and we can pick up where we left off?”

Kara stands up, swallowing the lump at the back of her throat as the woman grins unabashedly at her figure. “I’m late. For work. I’m late for work and you can’t exactly be late on your first day, right? So you need to go.” She doesn’t sound convincing even to her own ears, but she does have work in… An hour. So yeah, even if she _wanted_ to, she couldn’t. And she definitely doesn’t want to.

“You sure about that?” the woman asks, eyebrow raised.

Ok, now Kara remembers why she went home with this woman. She’s hot. Totally hot and she would, she most definitely would go there again, but she does have work and she wants to make a good first impression because that’s what responsible adults do, right?

“Y-yes, I’m sure. So, I uhm am going to take a shower,” Kara pretends her heart doesn’t start to race when she spots the woman’s eyes take on a predatory gleam at the mention of the shower. “And when I come back you’re not going to be here so uhm, goodbye?”

“Lena,” the woman provides.

“Right.” Kara points to herself. “Kara.”

“Kara.” She ignores the way Lena’s tongue practically curls over the letters of her name and what it’s doing to her insides.

“Goodbye, Lena.” Kara doesn’t stop to hear the woman- _Lena_ ’s reply and she nearly sprints up the stairs in an effort to get away from the smirk that she’s definitely not thinking about. _Damn it, Kara_.

So her life in National City was definitely off to a good start, a _very_ good start. The more Kara thinks about it, the more she’s sure that this entire situation is Alex’s fault though because she’s the one that ditched her at the bar last night, not Kara. Ditched her to go out with her girlfriend even after double checking multiple times throughout the day that Kara would be at said bar. So really, this is all Alex’s fault, especially since she didn’t even bother to text her to say she would be ditching.

_But_ , all in all Kara thinks her new life is off to a good start so as she strolls through the doors of National City Hospital, she’s feeling pretty confident that she’s going to have a good day. Alex is waiting for her at the reception desk with Maggie, the former looking apologetic and the latter with her trademark smirk in place, already wearing their dark navy scrubs.

“Kara, I’m so sorry. There was a problem with one my patient’s post-ops and I got caught up dealing with my interns’ stupidity. I swear they’re all completely useless. Anyway, it was late and I thought you might want an early night.” Alex’s hands are a little frantic, a habit she’s never been quite been able to kick.

Kara smiles warmly. “I went to the bar anyway. I wanted to get the feel of the place. I like it.”

“Oh,” Alex breathes a sigh of relief. “Ok, that’s fine. You didn’t get lost, did you?”

“Alex,” Kara starts, rolling her eyes at her sister’s overprotectiveness. “I’m not a child. I think I can find my way to a bar if I need to.”

“Yeah, Danvers. Your sister’s a grown up now.” Maggie shoots Kara a wink and Kara shrinks a little under her sister’s girlfriend’s knowing gaze. Well, fuck. Kara was hoping to keep it a secret a little longer.

“Anyway, J’onn is waiting for you in his office. There’s some paperwork for you to fill in and then you’ll be good to go, I think. Excited?”

“ _Alex_ ,” Maggie says, exasperated. “Let her breathe. It’s her first day. Come on, Little Danvers.”

Maggie ushers them through the first set of double doors and Alex carries on rambling, giving Kara a brief overview of where’s -what and who to bribe for the good surgical nurses and interns. Kara rolls her eyes once more, because she practically grew up in this hospital what with her adoptive parents working in the oncology department. Alex, it seems, is more nervous than her about Kara’s first day as the head of paediatric surgery, so she allows her sister this small comfort. People mill about around them, some pause to stare curiously at the woman who’s talking so familiarly with the two attendings and Kara can hear them whispering about her, “ _Is she replacing Preston?_ ”, “ _She’s hot, man. I wonder if she…_ ”, “ _You’ve got no chance, man. She’s with Danvers and Sawyer._ ” Kara winces. That’s one thing she definitely isn’t looking forward to. The gossip mill in Metropolis was renowned for knowing everything about everyone, from who’s sleeping with whom, to who screwed up what and that’s one of the reasons Kara left to begin with. Well, that and National City’s paediatric program is one of the best in the country.

“Ignore them,” Alex says, putting an arm around her sister’s shoulders. “They’re not worth it. And if Hook and Woods ever want to step foot in an OR again, they’ll shut up and get back to work!”

“Alex, you don’t have to-“

“ _Dr Danvers and Dr Sawyer to the ER. Dr Danvers and Dr Sawyer to the ER._ ”

Alex and Maggie’s pagers go off simultaneously a few moments later. “Damn it. There’s a pile-up downtown. It’s all hands on deck. Kara, forget the paperwork and get J’onn to give you privileges for the meantime.”

Kara nods and begins to pull her hair into a ponytail. “Got any scrubs I can borrow?”

Alex and Maggie are already on their way to the stairwell. “Attendings locker room! There’s already a set for you!”

Kara moves quickly and methodically and the sight that greets her as soon as she enters the ER isn’t pretty. There’s trauma coming out of the hospital’s ears and they’ve already run out of trauma rooms and on their way to running out of ORs as well. She spots Alex in Trauma Room 2 barking orders at her residents and Maggie popping a young girl’s shoulder back into place.

“Little Danvers, there you are! Trauma Room 3, please. Dr Luthor is on her way down, but I’m sure Dr Woods will appreciate a consult.”

 “Got it!”

The girl Dr Woods is treating can’t be much older than ten. There’s a deep laceration on her temple and there’s blood seeping out of the gauze as she convulses on the table. “What have we got?” she asks as soon as she reaches the bed.

“Emily Bailey, 9, she’s having grand mal seizures. She’s already been given Diazepam.”

“Ok, let’s push two milligrams of Prazepam.”

“I just gave her the third dose. Who the hell are you?” Kara pushes who she assumes to be Dr Woods to the side.

“Damn it. You idiot. How long has she been seizing?” Kara growls, trying to get a read on the girl’s pupils. Dr Woods doesn’t reply. The monitor carries on beeping erratically. “Ok, let’s try Phenobarbital.”

Flatline.

“Page Dr Luthor again, please!” she hears one of residents call out.

“Goddamn it, code blue. Get a crash cart in here! Woods, get your ass in gear, I need a crash cart!”

Kara and a nurse roll the girl and place the board under her body and the pads on her chest as soon as Woods finally rolls in with the cart. “Charge to two-hundred. Clear.”

Nothing. Come on, Emily.

“Charge to three-hundred,” she says. “Clear.”

_Beep_. _Beep_. _Beep_. “I see sinus rhythm.”

“Blood pressure’s coming up. Heart rate as well.”

Kara breathes a sigh of relief and turns her attention to a cowering Dr Woods. “If an attending asks you a question, Dr Woods, you answer. You do not waste time when a little girl’s life is on the line.”

“What the hell happened here?” thunders a voice from behind them. Kara freezes. “Someone give me her chart please.” Fuck. Oh no, oh no. Why her?

“This _woman_ says she works here. She ordered me around like I was an intern,” Woods grits out, arms crossed across his chest.

“Yes, I’m the new paeds attending and regardless of that, you gave the girl an extra dose of Prazepam. Rather than question me, I should be asking where on earth you got your medical degree.” Kara turns around and meets Lena’s eyes and she seems just about surprised to see her as she is.

As soon as Emily is stabilised and moved to a room upstairs, Lena drags her into an empty stairwell.

“Dr Luthor?” Kara asks, a wry grin beginning to form.

“This morning it was Lena.”

“I’d really like to pretend it never happened.”

Lena smiles broadly. “You’re going to have to be more specific. What never happened – us sleeping together or you throwing me out this morning? Because I’d really like to hold onto those memories.”

Kara blushes. “Both. Neither. It didn’t happen.”

Ok, now Kara is absolutely positive that Alex is going to kill her, especially when Lena smiles that charming smile that renders her helpless. “You took advantage of me and now you want to forget.”

“Wait. Wha-what?!” Kara splutters, indignant. “We were both very drunk and both clearly incapa-“

Lena kisses her and it’s anything but chaste and quick. Their lips move against each other slowly, rediscovering one another and when Lena pulls away she’s smug and her green eyes are alight with mirth.

Kara really does try to find it within herself to be annoyed. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you've seen me naked.”

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You took advantage of me.”  
> “I did not take-“  
> “Do you want to take advantage again? Say tonight?”  
> Kara shakes her head, but she’s powerless to help the small smile that escapes her. “I’m probably on call.”  
> “That’s not a no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I really was not expecting that kind of response! It really made my day to see all those reviews, kudos and bookmarks when I woke up this morning. I don't know how many chapters I'm going to write for this, like I've no idea where I'm going with it so any suggestions are more than welcome and will be much appreciated. Anyway, I hope you like the second installment!

“But I _have_ seen you naked,” Lena says, smirking. She’s leaning against the railings of the stairway, looking far too pleased with herself and the situation.

“This is inappropriate, Dr Luthor. We’re both attendings and-“

“Exactly. No conflict of interest. But if you want to get technical, Kara-“

“Dr Danvers,” Kara insists. Her attempts to keep this as professional as possible really aren’t going according to plan.

“ _Kara_ ,” Lena continues. “You took advantage of me.”

“I did not take-“

“Do you want to take advantage again? Say tonight?”

Kara shakes her head, but she’s powerless to help the small smile that escapes her. “I’m probably on call.”

“That’s not a no.”

“No,” Kara says and there’s a sense of finality about it that even she’s surprised with, but Lena doesn’t look the least bit convinced. In fact, she’s still staring at her like _that_ with that damn smirk on her lips, which Kara’s desperately trying not to find attractive.

So Kara leaves without as much as another glance in Lena’s direction and pretends her lips aren’t still tingling from the kiss and her heart isn’t racing because of a certain set of green eyes. She’s being ridiculous and she knows it, but it doesn’t stop her from going to the attendings lounge to hide from… well everyone and to gather her thoughts.

Ok. Kara slept with an attending, which in itself isn’t _technically_ a bad thing. It’s not as if Kara or Lena are interns or anything. Lena was right about that, though she’s loath to admit it. _Dr Luthor_ , not Lena she reminds herself. The sooner Kara forgets the woman’s name and stops thinking about said woman lying naked beneath her, the better.

She’s pacing about the room now, rubbing at her temples because this is a mess. It’s her first day at a new job and Kara’s already screwed one of the attendings and yelled at a resident. Though it should be pointed out that the resident deserved it and Kara, despite her sunny disposition, has zero tolerance for incompetency especially when there’s a little girl’s life on the line. She’s been told she’s scary when she’s mad. Kara’s got Eliza’s glare down to a T and both Alex and Maggie can vouch for that.

Kara just needs something to take her mind off things, a distraction. She’s tempted to just go and find J’onn and get the inevitable mountain of paperwork over with, but that’d mean leaving the safety of the empty lounge to wander around the hospital and chances are she’d run into Dr Luthor. With her luck, it’d definitely happen.

She takes back everything she said earlier. Today was not going well.

Kara collects herself and takes a deep breath. Again, she’s being ridiculous. She shouldn’t have to hide away just because a certain doctor is incapable of remaining professional. It was a one-night stand and Kara needs to get over it and _her_ because it’s _not_ happening again.

Kara makes a break for the elevator, before she loses her nerve. Honestly, she’s a grown ass woman and she’s acting as though she’s a teenager sneaking around with her first love and it’s childish; beyond, really.

J’onn’s office is on the fourth floor, along with the rest of admin and Kara watches the floor numbers light up above the doors with an intensity she usually reserves for her surgeries. She’s a floor away before anyone even enters the elevator and she’s grateful it’s a nurse. Kara recognises her from the earlier emergency in the ER, but she can’t quite recall her name. Meghan or Morgan. Something like that. She’ll learn all of the nurses’ names in due time. Kara made a habit of being friendly to the nurses back in Metropolis and she has every intention of doing the same here in National City.

The walkway the administration part of the building to the rest of the hospital is bright and it exudes warmth. The hospital in Metropolis was gloomy, not unlike the weather the city is famous for and the distinct lack of windows always made Kara feel claustrophobic. The only reason she stayed as long as she did was for Clark, but even he wasn’t enough to convince her to stay in the end. Plus, she missed Alex.

J’onn wraps her in a warm hug as soon as he spots her through the glass doors. “Kara, it’s good to see you.”

“You too, Dr J’onzz,” Kara says, a wide smile stretching her cheeks.

“I’ve known you since you were a little girl, Kara. There’s no need for that.”

“Oh thank god. I don’t know how long I could’ve kept that up.” She laughs, taking a seat opposite the hospital’s chief of surgery.

J’onn’s office is neat, everything meticulously organised and tidy, from the position of the lamp by the bookshelf, to the stack of files in line with the corner of the hardwood desk. He pulls a stack of paperwork from one of the drawers, the one Kara’s been dreading since she stepped foot into work this morning and it suddenly feels real. She’s going to be the head of paediatric surgery at one of the top hospitals in the country and it’s a little daunting, if she’s being honest. But Kara loves the tiny humans and she loves seeing the smiles on the faces of the makers of the tiny humans when they know that their kid is going to make it. Yes, it’s hard and heart-wrenching and sometimes all she wants to do is cry into her pillows and never operate again, but then she remembers those smiles and Kara swears they’re absolutely magical.

J’onn leaves her be as she dots and signs her way through the never-ending pile. Kara knows he’s doing this to be encouraging and not entirely overwhelm her and she’s grateful to him for it. She’s already read through her contract and she’d initially balked at the size of her salary and the responsibilities that come with the job, but she’s ready. Kara knows she is. She’s trained for years and she’s never been one to back down from a challenge.

“I heard you yelled at one of my residents today,” J’onn says casually, as though he’s trying to be subtle. Kara sees right through him and she narrows her eyes.

“He deserved it. Honestly, J’onn the guy’s an idiot. He nearly killed the girl,” Kara retorts and she doesn’t mean for it to sound that harsh, yet she finds herself once more becoming incensed. God help Dr Woods if he ever ends up on her service. He’ll be doing labs for a week.

“Unofficially I agree and Dr Woods has already been on probation once for sexual harassment, but unfortunately his mother is on the board and has a lot of sway with the rest of the board members. There’s only so much I can do.”

“Put him with Alex’s service for a few days. He’ll drop out of the program and become a coroner instead. No chance of him killing people that way,” Kara mutters, almost petulantly.

She’s made her way to the final page and all she needs to do now is sign her name and it’ll be official. Kara puts the pen down for a moment and looks at J’onn, who smiles at her and that’s all the encouragement she needs. Ok, deep breaths.

Done.

 _Phew_. Holy hell she’s done it.

J’onn hands her a pager and a badge to pin to her lab coat and tells her to go save lives. Kara leaves his office and practically skips her away down the hall. She needs to text Eliza and Alex and oh my god, she needs to tell Clark all about her day, maybe forgoing all the Dr Luthor business. Her cousin definitely doesn’t need to know about her love life.

When she reaches the nurses’ station on the third floor, Kara finds out Alex is still in surgery performing an aortic valve replacement that she’s almost tempted to go and watch, but she’s sure her sister will tell her all about it later. One of the nurses, who introduces himself as Winn, is lovely and apparently very enthusiastic about comic books. His favourite is Superman and she almost rolls her eyes because it’s just so _obvious_ , but she finds him endearing and she listens intently as he rambles on. Kara knows he’d be great with the kids on the paeds ward and she makes a note to see if she can get him assigned to any of her future cases.

 She becomes privy to all the hospital gossip, where she’s rather reluctant to learn that the rumour of her appointment as head of the children’s department has been circulating for weeks and the words ‘nepotism’ and ‘legacy’ have been thrown around a lot. Ok, so not quite the welcome Kara was expecting. Regardless, she’s ready to prove them all wrong.

Kara leans in a little closer and she knows she shouldn’t ask, but she can’t help it. “What can you tell me about Dr Luthor?”

Winn looks up and Kara doesn’t know if it’s something in her eyes or something on her face that immediately makes Winn’s smile drop.

“Oh, come on! Not you too!” he whines, head dropping onto a chart.

“I’m sorry, what?” Kara asks, confused. She’s confident she didn’t give anything away. He couldn’t possibly know, right?

“You’ve only been here one day and you’ve already fallen for that Luthor charm,” he carries on. Either he hadn't heard her or he's ignoring her. “Most of the staff – well, who am I kidding, the patients do it too – call her McDreamy because she’s just so nice and has perfect hair and can do no wrong. And oh my god, those eyes. Have you seen those eyes?”

“Winn, Winn, I haven’t fallen for her _charm_. I’ve only met her once,” she lies. “And I thought she was arrogant and kind of annoying, to be honest” Kara thinks she was convincing? Alex tells her all the time she can’t lie for shit and usually that would be the best kind of compliment, but in this case Kara would rather not have it circling around the gossip mill that she’s already slept with one of the surgeons. Granted, she didn’t _know_ she was going to end up working with said surgeon the next day, but still. It would be a really bad idea.

“Oh _thank god_ someone else agrees,” says a voice just behind Kara. Alex is walking towards her, scrub cap in one hand, chart in the other. “Everyone worships the ground the woman walks on. You’d think she’d cured cancer.”

Kara chuckles nervously. “She’s not even that pretty. I mean, she is. Only an idiot wouldn’t be able to see it and she does have really pretty eyes that if you catch in the right light. Sorry. But she’s not all that.” Kara finishes a little lamely, looking away when Alex narrows her eyes. Winn looks amused, but doesn’t say anything and she shoots him a thankful look.

“Anyway, I’m heading home after I check on my post-ops. You’re on call tonight, right?” Alex asks, changing the topic of conversation. Clearly, she’s heard enough about Dr Lena Luthor. _Thank god_.

Kara looks at her watch. Oh, wow. Ok, she hadn’t realised how late it was. “J’onn said I could go, but I’m going to stay and introduce myself to the parents. There’s a couple of surgeries on the board for tomorrow, so I should probably assure the makers of the tiny humans that I’m not going to kill their children.

Alex nods absently. “Right, ok. Page me if you need anything?”

“Of course,” Kara assures her sister with a hug. “Now go. A little birdie told me Maggie is cooking tonight.” She watches in amusement as Alex’s eyes widen comically and as she practically sprints towards the cardio wing. Her own stomach grumbles. Kara would kill for some of Maggie’s homemade quesadillas and she’s not particularly looking forward to the chewy pasta and sauce that’s probably never seen any kind of seasoning from the cafeteria later on.

“Going to tell me what the whole Dr Luthor thing was about?” Winn’s voice snaps her out of her food musings.

“There’s nothing to tell. She just barged into a trauma room and demanded to know what I’d done to nearly kill a patient. Of course, it wasn’t me who treated the patient to begin with. _That_ was Dr Woods and him I definitely hate. ” She’s getting kind of good at lying. Even Kara believed that.

“Ah,” Winn says. “That would explain why he’s been sulking all day. He’s been begging for surgeries, but Dr Sawyer blacklisted him for a couple of days. Mommy won’t be happy, of course, but there’s not much even _she_ can do when her son screws up that badly.”

“That sounds like something Maggie would do,” Kara agrees, tugging on her lab coat. “Sorry, I should probably go and check on my patients. It was nice to meet you, Winn!”

“You too, Dr Danvers!”

Kara still gets a thrill whenever someone calls her by her title. It’s not so much about the respect (though she does appreciate that as well), but it’s the fact that all of her work, all the effort she’s put into to getting to where she is now is worth it. And it totally is as soon as she steps into the paeds ward.

Kara has barely taken two steps through the double doors and she’s already overcome with emotion. Her eyes widen as she takes it all in. The walls are splattered with colour; there’s not an inch of white paint in sight and she _loves_ it. The animals are all crudely drawn, but painted with flair and it’s all just so _bright_ and childlike and Kara herself feels like a child all over again. She’s almost giddy with excitement and she very nearly adds her own addition to the wall when she spots the crayons lying in a tray in the corner. _Later_ , she promises herself. She still has a job to do for now.

The nurse is a sweet lady called Susan, who’s been working there for almost twenty years and Kara takes a liking to her almost immediately. Susan takes her time to show her where everything is, which patients are the most critical, which she can discharge first thing in the morning and Kara appreciates it immensely.

“You’ll do fine,” Susan reassures her as Kara nervously makes her way to the first patient room.

Her heart is pounding in her chest as she pulls the glass door to the side. The patient is Kyle Edwards, 9 and is a post-op appendectomy. He was one of Dr Preston’s last patients and while she has all the confidence in the world in her predecessor, Kara just wants to double check that everything is going smoothly. It’s the easiest surgery in the book and Kara could probably do it in her sleep if she wanted to, but it’s always better to be cautious.

There’s a woman sat in one of the uncomfortable lounge chairs reading a book, who looks up as soon as Kara enters the room. Her eyes are tired and red from use and her clothes are rumpled from sitting down for too long.

“Hi, my name is Dr Danvers. You must be Kyle’s mom?”

Mrs Edwards nods wearily and crosses her arms across her chest. “Yes, but please call me Martha.”

“Martha,” Kara says warmly. “I’m the new head of department and I just wanted to check on how Kyle’s been doing.”

“Oh, but I thought- What happened to Dr Preston?”

“Dr Preston retired, ma’am. I believe Kyle was his last surgery. There’s nothing to worry about," Kara assures her as she can see the poor woman beginning to panic. "I’ve looked over Kyle’s chart and everything looks to be in order; in fact, you’ll probably be able to take him home tomorrow lunchtime.”

Mrs Edwards sag in relief as she looks at her sleeping son. “He’s been in a little bit of pain, but the nurse said that was to be expected.”

“Yes, that’s perfectly normal. I’ll stop by in a little while when he’s awake and if he’s still in pain, we’ll give him something for that. Do you mind if I-“  Kara gestures towards Kyle, but Mrs Edwards nods right away.

Careful not to wake the child, Kara tugs at the gown to look at the surgical incision. It looks good, none of the stitching seems to have pulled and there's no redness. She ticks off all of the boxes in her head and lowers the gown.

“Right, everything looks good, Mrs Edwards. Can I get you anything at all? I can probably sneak a pillow and a blanket if you’d like to get some sleep.”

Martha smiles at her finally, if a little sleepily. “If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. I’ll be right back.”

Kara’s always prided herself on being able to read people. Well, maybe not so much _people_ , but parents she knows how to deal with. She knows that there’s nothing more precious than the bond between a parent and their child and anything that threatens that bond is in danger of being mauled or physically harmed in any case. Kara _knows_ she’s not just treating children she’s advocating for them and giving them a voice.

Kyle’s case is easy and the remedy simple. It won’t always be like that. She’ll soon have parents screaming at her and cursing her name to whatever deity might be listening, so really, any kind of comfort she can provide Mrs Edwards with right now isn’t just for her own good karma. And the woman, bless her, looks like she’s not slept for the past two days.

The rest of Kara’s night is a bit of a blur. She gets to know all of the patients in the surgical ward and familiarises herself with all of their charts. Some of the parents she likes right from the get-go and they’re confident in her abilities; some are downright patronising and demand a more experienced doctor, a _male_ doctor and while Kara can understand that on some level, she does politely explain that she is one of the best paediatric surgeons on the west coast. One couple in particular didn’t take kindly to that and _did_ proceed to scream at her, but her resume speaks for itself. Kara didn’t train under Diana Prince for nothing and the glowing recommendation she received from her alone was enough to get her job offers from all around the country. All the same, she excuses herself and promises them she’ll be back in the morning with a set of updated scans. They proceed to sneer at her, but Kara shakes it off. She's dealt with worse. 

Susan pats her on the back and hands her a warm cup of tea and tells her, “The Lords are like that with everyone. Don’t beat yourself up.”

By the time six o’clock rolls around, Kara is exhausted and can’t wait to drop dead into bed. She doesn’t quite know how she makes it to the elevator, but she’s grateful she has something to lean her back against when the doors close. 

“Long day?” Oh _come on_. It’s just her luck.

“You could say that.” Kara looks up to see Dr Luthor peering at her curiously behind a set of black-rimmed glasses. She’s no longer dressed in scrubs, but a nice pair of fitting black trousers and a white blouse. “I’m not going out with you.”

Lena raises an eyebrow. Ok, wow. Kara really shouldn’t be finding that attractive at six am. “When did I ask you out?” She pauses and then a grin appears. “Do you want to go out with me?”

“No, I don’t. I’ve heard things about you.”

“All good things, I imagine.” Dear lord, the arrogance of the woman. Kara can see why Alex doesn’t like her, but then again…

“Look, I’m drawing a line here.”

“Is this an imaginary line or do I have to get a marker? I don’t think I have one on me. Will a pen do?”

Kara looks at her then and Lena is the picture of innocence, her face gives nothing away, but Kara can see it in her eyes. There’s mischief twinkling within them and it’s not fair, it really isn’t because it’s six am and Kara probably looks like hell because she certainly feels it, and here is Lena Luthor looking as though she’s just on her way in to work with not a hair out of place. Kara stares at her for a moment longer, drops her briefcase and coat and kisses her. Lena’s surprised, but she catches on pretty quickly and responds eagerly, hands rising to tangle themselves in Kara’s hair until Kara hears the ding that signals the opening of the elevator doors. Kara pulls away and crouches down to retrieve her things and leaves without looking back.

Lena stands there, cheeks flushed and bemused.

“Is that a yes?” Kara hears.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think and once again, any mistakes are my own.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh thank the lord. I think I’d have died if I had to go up those stairs again. Tell me again, Little Danvers, why you picked the only apartment in National City with a broken elevator?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I think I have a vague idea of where I'm going with this. Still don't know how many chapters I'm gonna write, but at least it's something? I've gone back and fixed the odd thing in the previous chapters, like M'gann owning the bar. I've changed my mind and decided I wanted her to play a larger part in whatever this is.  
> Hope you enjoy! There's fluff and a teeny-tiny bit of angst.

“Ok, I think that’s the last of them,” Kara says, wiping the sweat form her brow and placing the last of the boxes on the floor.

“Oh thank the _lord_. I think I’d have died if I had to go up those stairs again. Tell me again, Little Danvers, why you picked the _only_ apartment in National City with a broken elevator?” Maggie is panting, her breaths coming out in short exhales and she is more or less drenched in sweat, a fact she’s been bemoaning for the past two hours and is definitely not letting Kara forget it.

Kara waves her off, still smiling, but secretly she can’t wait for a shower. “The landlord has assured me that it will be fixed by the end of the week, so there. Not a problem.”

“Yeah, only because he was blinded by all of _that_ ,” Maggie says, pointing at Kara. “Promise me you’ll tell me when you meet a person who can resist the puppy dog eyes. I’d like to meet them and shake their hand and beg for them to tell me their secret.”

Kara sticks her tongue out and Maggie flips her the bird. _Rude_. Maggie’s exaggerating, of course. Kara had only asked the man, quite nicely, she might add when the elevator would be fixed. Nothing more, nothing less. With great power comes great responsibility and Kara would never use her puppy dog eyes for something as frivolous as that. She, personally, doesn’t mind the nine flights of stairs. It’s good for her cardio.

“You owe me big time for this,” Maggie continues. “It’s my day off and I’ve graciously decided to help you move and you’ve put me through torture.” Kara rolls her eyes fondly. Torture, really?

“Alex bribed you with sex. Don’t lie, Maggie.”

“Semantics. It’s still my day off.”

Kara ignores her and puffs her chest out as she looks around her new apartment. She’s quite proud of herself for the find. It’s just two blocks from the hospital and within walking distance of whatever she might need. It’s still a little bare and Kara still has to work out the logistics of where to put all of her stuff and when she’ll have the time to go furniture shopping alone because she sure as hell isn’t going to take Maggie with her. The orthopaedic surgeon might as well be one of the kids she treats with the amount of complaining she does on a regular basis. But for now it’ll do. She has her bed and Kara can’t really put into words how much she’s missed it.

Alex is sad to see her go and of course Kara is too deep down. Way, way deep down. She loves her sister, she really does, but Kara can only walk in on her and Maggie going at it so many times before she’s permanently scarred for life. And she’s not a big fan of the couch (why Alex only has a one-bedroom apartment when she can afford a much bigger one continues to baffle her) for reasons that shall not be discussed, but that are not entirely limited to the _incident_. Kara’s back was killing her after the second night and she even resorted to spending the occasional night in one of the many on-call rooms at the hospital. The mattresses are almost rock solid and the pillows even more so, but more often than not Kara’s far too exhausted to care. She should have known, of course, that they were used for other _things_ and that led her to catching more than a fair share of her residents indulging in something other than their love for surgeries. Alex had laughed so hard she’d nearly fallen over when she’d told her. _Kara, you sweet summer child. What did you think they were used for?_ Hence the need for an apartment.

Her first week went by quicker than expected. Her first surgeries went smoothly with zero complications so far. Kara knows this isn’t going to last. She’s an optimist, but there’s only so much good luck a person can have and hers and that of some of her patients is bound to run out any day now, though it pains her to admit it. Kara’s not looking forward to that day.

She’s still refusing to acknowledge that _a certain thing_ ever happened as well as another small incident in the elevator. It’s helped that she’s barely even seen Dr Luthor at the hospital in the past week, though Kara has been doing her best to avoid her and all the flirtatious glances and winks the woman manages to send her way whenever she spots Kara.

Winn thinks it’s hilarious. Kara does not.

He doesn’t know all the details yet, or any really, but he’s made a few accurate guesses that Kara’s neither confirmed nor denied. The way Kara averted her eyes while her cheeks took on a lovely shade of pink had been conclusive enough and to Winn’s credit, he hasn’t told a soul that she can tell. Not that he can tell anyone anything because _nothing_ happened, big, big emphasis on the nothing. Sure, everyone still whispers about her behind her back, but Kara figures that just comes with the territory of being the new attending on the block.

When Kara emerges from her bedroom, Maggie’s still there, inelegantly sprawled against two poufs and sipping at a beer that she must have stolen from Kara’s fridge.

“Comfortable?” Kara asks as she stands over the other woman, brow raised.

“Very. And thanks for the beer, by the way. I needed it.”

“You’re welcome. Not that you _needed_ my permission to raid my fridge or anything.”

“I didn’t steal your food, Little Danvers. I don’t have a death wish, no matter what Alex thinks.” Kara nods, glad Maggie knows better than to steal her precious food. There’s leftover pizza in there that Kara plans to have later. “Kara, can I ask you something?”

Kara looks up at the use of her first name and Maggie’s change of tone. It’s serious and Maggie’s usually anything but, except when at work but she waves off Kara’s concerned look and moves her legs so Kara can sit down opposite her. The blonde sinks clumsily into the pouf and Maggie grins at Kara’s gracelessness before it gives way to her earlier nervousness.

Kara reaches across and squeezes her hand gently, providing whatever support her friend might need. She’s really not used to seeing Maggie like this.

“Ok, so you know how Alex and I have been dating for a while now, right?” Kara nods, not wanting to interrupt her. But yes, they’ve been dating for years. “And I’m sure you’ve noticed how I pretty much live at her place…” Yes, Kara is _more_ than aware. “I’ve already asked Eliza and she’s given me her permission and everything, but you, Kara, you mean so fucking much to Alex and it really wouldn’t feel right if I asked her without telling you first. I want to ask Alex to marry me.”

Maggie doesn’t see it coming, but she’s suddenly wrapped in a surprisingly strong pair of arms and is unable to breathe. She has wet droplets running down the side of her neck as Kara’s entire frame starts shaking and Maggie feels at a bit of a loss, unsure if this is a good sign or not and awkwardly begins to pat Kara’s back.

“Kara, Kara. I love you, but I can’t really breathe,” Maggie says into Kara’s shoulder.

Kara pulls back, her blue eyes teary but she’s smiling so hard, her cheeks are almost bursting as she jumps up and squeals. “Oh my god, I’m so excited. Have you thought about how you’re going to propose?” She stops, swivelling back around to face Maggie. “Have you got a ring?”

Maggie laughs at Kara’s exuberance, but internally she’s feeling relieved that Kara hadn’t straight up told her she couldn’t propose to her sister. “Yes, yes I’ve got a ring, but it’s at my apartment. And I’ve got a few ideas, but I was hoping you could help?”

Kara is unable to help the girlish squeal that escapes her throat and wraps Maggie in another hug. “I’d love to help,” she says softly. “And for what it’s worth, I think you’re perfect for Alex and she’s going to love whatever you decide to do because it’s coming from _you_.”

Maggie pretends she doesn’t have traitorous tears pricking at the corner of her eyes, but she holds on tighter to Kara regardless. “Thanks, Little Danvers. Have you got anything stronger than beer? I think we’re gonna need it.”

*** *** *** ***

The next day Kara’s shaking off the effects of a scotch-induced hangover as she walks a little bleary-eyed into the attending’s lounge. Alex and Maggie are already there, the former already in her scrubs and hanging her black stethoscope around her neck, and the latter, much like Kara, looking a little worse for wear and decidedly green in the face. Johnnie Walker is no longer one of Kara’s favourite men, she decides then and there. He’s being shelved alongside Jim, Jack and Jose never to be seen again and from the looks Maggie is giving her from across the room, Kara gathers that she feels the same way.

Her scrubs still smell of new and they’re soft to the touch, unlike the almost papery quality of the ones she wore in Metropolis. Pulling the shirt over her head, she’s dreading today even though her schedule isn’t particularly busy. Kara has a few surgeries in the afternoon, nothing major and she’s probably going to let one of her residents take the lead, if only to see which one to take under her wing.

“Danvers, any chance you can take Dr Woods off my service today?” Kara’s not been properly introduced to Dr Queen, but she’s heard things. All good, of course. He’s an excellent surgeon, if a little stoic and sometimes unnecessarily harsh, but Alex holds him in high-esteem so Kara supposes that counts for something.

“I have Allen today and I’m not going to lie, I’d prefer to have him to Dr Woods.”

Dr Queen lets out a long-suffering sigh. “Everyone does… Please.” Kara can tell he’s not used to saying those words aloud. “He may be better with kids than he is with adults.”

Kara weighs it over in her mind. She really doesn’t want him anywhere near her tiny humans, but everyone makes mistakes and it’s not like she didn’t make her fair share in her residency. A second chance couldn’t hurt.

“Fine, but just for today. I happen to like Allen, so please don’t turn him to general surgery.” Dr Queen smiles his version of a smile, a brief quirk upward of the lips and walks away.

All the residents are waiting patiently by the nurse’s station on the surgical floor, shuffling their feet and chatting amongst one another. One by one, all their eyes light up as they see the approaching attendings.

“Raatko,” Alex barks. “You’re with me today. Let’s move.”

“Lance!”

“Olsen!”

“Allen!”

“Griffin!”

“Haught!”

“Woods!” Kara calls. No response. She tries again. “Woods!” Kara has no time for this, she has rounds in a few minutes and to her, punctuality is everything. “Anyone want to tell me where Dr Woods is?” The remaining residents shake their heads.

She pages him, giving him one last chance but after ten minute of silence she makes her way to the paeds ward in a foul mood that’s soured even further by a pounding headache and nausea that doesn’t seem to want to go away. Kara has three interns scuttling after her that she recognises as M’orzz, Smythe and Harper. They’re diligent enough and so far they’ve all done as she’s asked, even if it’s just chasing down a set of labs or scans.

“Ok,” Kara says, plastering on a bright smile, her normal cheerfulness returning just a little bit. “Before you walk through those doors, I want to remind you that this is paeds. You may have rotated in this specialty before and you may have already had this lecture by someone else, but I do things a little differently. This is paeds and in paeds everything is magic. The IV bags are filled with fairy dust; the MRI is a spaceship. These kids have been to hell and back and if believing in magic makes even the tiniest bit of difference, you bet your asses we’re going to play along.” She pauses, letting her speech sink in a little. “Do not frighten the tiny humans, but more importantly, don’t anger the makers of the tiny humans.” Kara adds as an afterthought. It’s bound to happen, but she does want her interns to be prepared for the inevitable.

Kara grabs the ten surgical charts from the nurses’ station and divides them between her three interns. “You have ten minutes to read these over before rounds. Bonus, if any one of you can find Dr Woods for me in those ten minutes and recite your charts back to me, you get to scrub in with me on my portacaval shunting this afternoon.”

Within seconds the three interns dissipate and run off in different directions. “You shouldn’t encourage them, you know,” Susan says, though her smirk says otherwise.

“It helps them learn and there’s nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition.” Kara looks at her pager in annoyance. If she’d even dared be late for rounds, Dr Prince would have skinned her alive and then stitch her back together only to do it again.

Ten minutes come and go and M’orzz, Smythe and Harper come trotting back with no Dr Woods in sight, though they each manage to perform well during rounds and Kara gives them points for that. The last patient is Henry Parker, 7 and one of the most adorable little boys Kara’s ever had the pleasure of meeting. Within two days he’d managed to charm the socks off of Kara as well as the rest of the floor staff and somehow, and Kara doesn’t quite know how, persuaded National City’s own Nurse Ratched to smile a genuine smile.

Susan thought the world was going to end. Kara did too for a while because the woman is horrible.

Both of the little boy’s parents are there and Kara smiles warmly at them as they step into the room. Henry is wide awake and is almost bouncing in his bed with excitement.

“Dr Kara, Dr Kara! I’m Batman, look, look!” He’s right. Henry is the spitting image of the dark crusader in his bright yellow pyjama bottoms with black batarangs scattered across, and the dark long sleeved top with the Batman symbol in the centre of his chest. He’s covering his face with his tiny hands, save for two little holes through which he sees the doctors and his parents.

Kara gasps. “But how? I thought this was Henry’s room?”

“It is, it is! But I’m Batman. I’m here to protect you.”

Her chest feels warm as Kara looks at Henry who’s staring at her with such adulating affection. This right here is why she does her job. Kara puts a hand to her chest, wide-eyed. “No! Has the Joker escaped?”

“No, silly. I’m protecting you from him.” Henry points to Dr Harper who freezes instantly and glances around the room, not quite knowing what to do.

Kara spares him the embarrassment and takes pity on him. “I don’t think you have to worry about Dr Harper, Henry. He’s here to make sure you get better.”

“So he’s not your boyfriend?” The little boy is sizing Dr Harper up and where she in any other position, Kara would likely be on the floor laughing. As it stands, his parents look like they’re fighting a losing battle, barely managing to reign in their own laughter.

“No,” Kara says softly. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Henry sits back down on his bed, smug. “Good. Because I’m your boyfriend and I’m gonna marry you one day.”

“I’m flattered, Henry. Would you like to present, Dr Smythe?”

“Henry Parker, 7, also known as Batman, presents with a stage one medulloblastoma to the cerebellum. He’s being prepped for a total resection of the tumour and is currently on 40 mg of hydrocortisone IV to help with the steroid cover. He’s also scheduled for a final CT scan before surgery and Dr Luthor will consult.”

“Thank you, Dr Smythe.” Kara turns towards Henry’s parents. “Dr Luthor will come by in a little while to go over the results and see if anything has changed, but if everything is good to do we should be able to the surgery today or tomorrow at the latest.”

“And he’s good this Dr Luthor, he’s good at what he does?”

Kara nods. Dr Luthor may be arrogant, but she _is_ good at what she does. “She’s one of the best, Mrs Parker,” Kara corrects her gently. “Your son is in good hands and we’re going to do our very best. Do you have any questions for me at all? Is there anything you’d like to go through with me again?”

Mrs Parker looks at her husband and then back at Kara, shaking her head. “You’ll be there the entire time, won’t you Dr Danvers?”

“Of course, I’ll be watching Dr Luthor like a hawk, Mrs Parker. She’s one of the very best in her field,” Kara reminds the woman. And herself.

The entire conversation goes unnoticed by Henry. He’s too busy threatening Dr Harper with as much bodily harm as a seven year old boy can manage, promising that if he tries to kiss his future wife, he’ll have Batman to deal with.

Suitably warned the doctors leave the room with Kara pausing in the doorway to blow Henry a kiss.

“Ok, Smythe I’d like you to go to CT and see if there’s a backlog. If not, please take Henry for his scan and page me and Dr Luthor when the results come in. M’orzz, I need you to run labs for me today. There shouldn’t be anything urgent, but page me if there is. Harper, you’re on post-ops and you know the drill. Keep the tiny humans happy. Oh, and if you see Dr Woods you are to come find me _immediately_ , understood?” Kara adds as an afterthought and she thinks she sounds threatening enough. She’s done Alex proud with that one if the way the three scurries away is anything to go by.

Kara has some time to herself before her first surgery. Her headache is now, thankfully, gone and she decides to see if Alex is still doing her coronary artery bypass. She hasn’t seen one done in a while and she needs time to prep if she’s going to be spending time with Dr Luthor. The gallery is empty for the most part. There’s a resident Kara doesn’t recognize observing intently, attempting to mick every move Alex makes with his own hands and Kara smiles to herself, smothering a chuckle. Alex still doesn’t know the effect she has on her students, no matter how many times both her friends and family try to remind her that she’s a genius in her field.

The resident leaves a few minutes later after being paged, but his spot is soon filled by a large group, a combination of both residents and interns complaining about whatever menial job their attendings have made them do. Kara’s pleased to say that her name isn’t mentioned once, but as soon as she hears one voice begin to grumble about the number of pages he’s received in the last hour or so, Kara’s had enough.

Kara’s jaw clenches and she grits her teeth to stop herself from saying what she _really_ wants to say the jackass that’s ignored her all morning.

“Honestly, dude. She’s been paging me non-stop for _rounds_ , fucking rounds. Who the fuck wants to do rounds in paeds? I was supposed to be with Queen doing that whipple today.”

She shoves her fists into her lab coat pockets, determined sit there in silence and watch Alex work.

“She’s hot though, just like her sister. Shame she’s one of _them_ though,” another one says.

“You got that right. Hey, I bet you my next three surgeries that I can get her to sleep with me within a week?”

“You’re on, dude. You’ve got no chance.”

Kara’s nails are digging into her palms. It’s fine. Well, it’s not, but there’s no point in getting into an argument with a bunch of frat boys who think they’re god’s gift to women. She’ll report them to J’onn later on in the day and she’ll personally make sure the pair of them never sees the inside of an OR, let alone a scalpel for the rest of their miserable careers. Sure, she’d use up the few favours she’s accumulated over the years, but it’d totally be worth it to see the looks on their smarmy faces.

Her pager goes off not too long later. It’s the CT scan results. She’s sitting at the back of the gallery so it’s easy enough for Kara to slip out of the gallery without being noticed. Dr Luthor is the only one in CT and she swivels round in her chair as soon as she spots her favourite person to tease.

Kara puts a hand up to stop whatever cheesy line Lena is about to say. “Look, I’m having a really shitty day and I’d appreciate it if you could lay off the flirting just this once and please tell me this fucking tumour hasn’t metastasized. I really like this kid and I really don’t want to tell his parents he’s dying.”

Lena’s gaze softens, whatever she was about to say dying on her lips and nods, motioning for Kara to take a look. Kara leans forward, gazing intently at the screen and ignoring the hand that Lena has placed on her arm. She knows the gesture was meant for comfort and not flirtatious in any means.

“Look,” Lena says, pointing to the scan. “Not only has it _not_ metastasized, it’s shrunk a little. The kid’s a fighter.”

Kara doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but settles for a combination of the two. She cries a watery laugh that’s closer to a sob than anything else and Lena squeezes her arm. “I’m sorry you’ve had a shitty day and I’m sorry if you’re uncomfortable with the flirting. I’ll stop-“

“It’s not that. If I wanted you to stop, you’d know,” Kara says wryly. “If I’m being honest with myself I don’t necessarily mind the flirting, I think you’re charming, but I thought you were just a one-night stand, Lena. I didn’t expect you to be working here and seeing you here on my first day scared the shit out of me.”

Lena nods, pensive. “So to clarify, you _don’t_ mind the flirting?”

“Don’t push your luck. Let’s start with being friends and if there’s anything there we’ll see about changing that.”

“About the kissing thing, is that definitely not happening again? I need to know these things.”  

Kara extracts herself from the hold Lena has on her arm and rolls her eyes. “Please shut up. And no, there’ll be no more kissing.”

“Just double checking. Shall we go and tell Mr and Mrs Parker the good news?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not study medicine at university so all of the medical jargon and dosages and what not are pulled from the internet, so apologies if they're all terribly wrong lol


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I would've had this up earlier in the week, but after watching the Supergirl panel at SDCC and the MTV interview I really haven't been in the mood to write for this fandom. I'm really disappointed in the cast, but pleased we at least have Katie in our corner. This seems to becoming a bit of a recurring theme with the CW, doesn't it? 
> 
> Anyway, this is a little shorter than the other chapters but I wanted to upload something this week just to get back into the rhythm of things. Hope you like Kara being a badass!

It’s an experience, sharing an OR with Lena Luthor. Kara’s not precisely sure what it is, but there’s just something about the general atmosphere in the room that gives off the feeling that she’s witnessing a performance, and not just any kind.

“ _It’s a beautiful day to save lives_.”

It’s theatre at its finest and Lena’s the conductor of the stage. Everyone’s attention is on Dr Luthor, from all the way up to the packed gallery, to the several interns and scrub nurses that fill out the OR and the focus is entirely centred on even the slightest movement of Lena’s hands, any adjustment of the instruments. It’s a sea of ceil blue against a sterile white background and Kara and Lena are the only ones that stand out from the crowd with their different coloured scrub caps.

Lena’s is a dark green, a deep emerald that’s only a shade or two darker than her eyes. Kara only knows this because she’s caught herself staring at them one too many times in the past three hours, and she couldn’t help the comparison. It’s the look of utter concentration on Lena’s face, the furrowed brow and the narrowed eyes that Kara finds distracting. She should know better than to stare, especially so out in the open where anyone could catch her, but she can’t really help it. Lena’s is a presence that she’s rarely witnessed in the operating room and the way she commands the stage so easily, with barely seven words is something to be admired and respected. It’s fascinating and Kara pretends that’s the only reason why she’s staring so intently at the neurosurgeon.

Lena’s barely looked up from her work, but she occasionally spares Kara the odd glance and small smile, as though to make sure Kara’s still there. As if Kara would be anywhere else. This is her patient on the table and she made a promise to Mrs Parker, one she intends to keep.

It’s quiet in the OR save for the steady _beep, beep, beep_ of the monitors and the slight _whoosh_ of the ventilator with every breath that Henry takes. Some surgeons like to listen to music while they operate, like Alex. Boring classical stuff that’s more likely to send Kara to sleep than keep her awake, but Kara knows they each have their own way of dealing with the pressure that they’re all holding human lives in their hands. Even the slightest mistake could be catastrophic.

Kara herself likes to talk; she likes to get to know the people around her because it lets her know that she’s not alone, that the spotlight isn’t solely focused on her. Lena must prefer silence and Kara can see why. While every surgery requires a steady hand, neuro is perhaps the most delicate and every single one of Dr Luthor’s movements is precise, from the way her left hand is steadily holding the forceps without even the slightest twitch, to the way her right is slowly digging through tissue in search of the tumour. It’s a slow process and Kara’s grateful Lena’s taking her time.

“Ok, can we adjust the scope a little to the left? Yes, right there. Dr Danvers, would you like to take a look?” The surgical nurse that’s been assisting Lena steps aside to give Kara room to move. And that’s when she sees it. It’s only slightly bigger than a dime and an odd discoloured white. Lena was right; it had shrunk considerably since Henry’s last scan from six months ago, but Dr Luthor doesn’t need yet another person to add to her already inflated ego so Kara doesn’t bother sharing her thoughts.

“Do you think you can get it all?” It’s a stupid question, but Kara would really like to hear Lena say it out loud.

“I can get it all,” Dr Luthor confirms, smiling. Kara can’t see it, but she knows it’s there hidden beneath her face mask. “Henry’s going to be just fine.”

_Thank you_ , Kara mouths to Lena just as everyone in the gallery begins to break out into mild applause. Lena’s acknowledging nod is subtle and barely noticeable unless you were specifically looking for it, but Kara can nonetheless feel the beginnings of a radiant smile starting to form. It doesn’t take long for Lena to resect and dispose of the tumour and she allows her resident to irrigate the area and close up under the watchful eyes of the two attendings. Dr Olsen does a good a job and performs admirably despite Kara boring holes into the back of his head, almost willing him not to screw up (it works by the way). Lena bumps her shoulder and shoots her a knowing look, something Kara pointedly chooses to ignore and soon enough the two are ferrying Henry back to his room.

They find Mr and Mrs Parker in the waiting room, exchanging anxious glances with one another as they eagerly await news of their son’s surgery. They stand up as soon as they spot Dr Danvers and Dr Luthor’s approaching figures and there must be something on Kara’s face that allows for Mrs Parker’s shoulders to slump in relief and lean heavily on her husband for support. Mr Parker remains steadfast, but Kara can see tears glistening in the man’s eyes.

“Mr and Mrs Parker,” Lena begins, her tone not giving anything away. Kara’s tempted to roll her eyes because she’s pretty sure her smile is already betraying the good news. “Your son’s surgery went incredibly well. Dr Danvers and I managed to remove the entire tumour without any complications. We’ll be keeping him under observation for a few days just as a precaution and we’ll order another set of scans to be absolutely certain, but with any luck Henry will be cancer free and back to fighting crime in no time.”

Lena sidesteps Mrs Parker’s hug as she practically launches herself at the two surgeons and wraps Kara in a tight embrace. Kara’s taller than the woman by a few inches and the height disparity makes all the difference as she can feel the seemingly never-ending _thank yous_ being mumbled into her shoulder. Lena looks on, amused, but she eagerly shakes Mr Parker’s outstretched hand.

“Thank you so much, doctors,” he says, tears now streaming freely down his cheeks.

Kara manages to disentangle herself from the sobbing woman long enough to ask, “Would you like to see him? He’s still heavily sedated and probably won’t wake up for a few hours, but you can sit with him if you’d like.”

Kara watches with a smile from the nurses’ station in the paeds ward as Mrs Parker strokes her son’s hair and the boy’s father holds the tiny hand tightly in his. Dr Luthor comes up to the counter.

“Your day going any better?” Lena asks. She’s standing across from Kara, on the opposite end of the station and not even looking up from the chart she’s filling in, but she’s wearing that infernal smirk.

“Much. Lena… Thank you.” Lena looks up quizzingly at that, half way through turning a page.

“For what?”

“For not being an ass.” At Lena’s raised eyebrow, Kara continues. “And for helping with the Parkers. I know you have a busy schedule and you could’ve just as easily handed this case to one of your fellows.”

Lena closes the chart and moves closer to the blonde doctor, their shoulders barely brushing against one another as she leans in. Kara pretend she doesn’t subconsciously lean into the touch. “We’re friends. I’m nice to my friends.” She underlines this with a wink and a not-so-subtle glance at Kara’s lips before she hands her chart to Susan and walks off in the direction of the stairwell.

Kara gapes at her, looking back and forth between an amused Susan and the closing double doors. “I take it back, you’re still an ass!” she shouts.

Susan shakes her head. _McDreamy indeed_.

Kara’s busy updating Henry Parker’s chart when Dr Woods comes bursting through the doors, hands in the air and an angry scowl on his face. He’s waiting expectantly for her to say something, but Kara for the life of her really can’t bring herself to look at the idiot without giving into the temptation to punch him in the nose.

“Yes? Can I help you, Dr Woods?” Susan wisely walks away, motioning for the other nurses to do the same. The man lets out an angry huff.

“Henry Parker’s surgery. Why wasn’t I paged? I’m on your service today.” _Are you-Is he actually_ … Kara can’t believe what she’s hearing.

Kara puts down her pen and takes a deep breath. “Dr Woods, I’m going to give you a piece of _advice_ and this is something you probably should’ve learned on your first day as an intern. I’ll do my best to keep it short and not use any big words; I wouldn’t want your brain to strain itself too much.”

Dr Woods is about to interrupt, but Kara puts her hand up. “Please, let me finish. If an attending pages you for rounds, you answer regardless of whether you think it is beneath you. And you do not blatantly disrespect two attendings, especially when one of them is in the room.” Kara looks at her watch. 4:15pm. Right on time. “I’d make my way to the chief’s office right about now, Dr Woods. You’re off my service, permanently.”

Kara goes back to filling in her chart and pretends not to hear the barely muffled swearing as the man stomps away petulantly and sure enough a few seconds later his pager goes off intermittently. Good. Kara can’t wait to hear the outcome of _that_ meeting. There’s a part of her that think she was too harsh, but then the rest of her remembers what the idiot and his friends said about Alex and then she thinks that she wasn’t harsh enough. Hopefully, J’onn fires his sorry ass as well as his friend’s because that kind of behaviour really is unacceptable. Cat Grant had been the temporary chief of surgery in Metropolis when Kara had been a resident there and just thinking about what the woman would have done to Dr Woods had he worked under her is enough to make Kara wince and shiver in fear. If Dr Prince was downright scary, Dr Grant was fear itself when pissed off.

Kara puts her pen back down. “You can stop pretending you weren’t listening in, Susan. I know you heard every word of that,” Kara says, chuckling.

Susan’s face is a little sheepish, but she hides it well. “If I could I would bow. I’ve been waiting for that to happen for a long time.”

“I’m surprised no one’s done it before. I’m surprised _Alex_ hasn’t.”

“Dr Woods usually knows better than to say anything in front of the other Dr Danvers. No offence, dear, but he probably thought you’d be an easy target and fall for his charms.”

Kara’s a little taken aback by that. Is she an easy target? Is that why Dr Luthor flirts with her all the time? Does she think that- No, Kara shakes her head. She’d like to think she had better judgement than that. Besides, she and Lena were _friends_.

Susan reaches across the counter to squeeze her hand as if following Kara’s train of thought. Her soft smile is both understanding and knowing. “Don’t mistake his actions for another’s. Dr Luthor is smitten with you.”

“But we’re not- I’m not-“

“Kara, it’s fairly obvious.”

“Oh.” _Fuck_.

*** *** ***

Kara’s just about to head towards the attendings’ lounge to change when she hears her name being called out. The voice is unfamiliar, but she supposes that doesn’t really count for anything since she still hasn’t met all of the hospital staff. She’s tired and _really_ can’t wait for the beer that’s practically calling her from across the street and if the texts she’s sporadically received from Alex and Maggie throughout the day are any indication, they’re also in dire need for a drink.

She plasters a smile on her face and turns to meet the stranger, but from the look on the woman’s face Kara can tell this isn’t going to be a pleasant conversation. The woman is the same height as Kara, maybe a fraction taller and her hair is a rich brown that reaches past her shoulders in soft waves. Her eyes are dark and they zero in on Kara menacingly.

“Dr Danvers, I presume?” Kara nods, but she’s sorely tempted to through her sister under the bus instead.

She tilts her head, regarding the woman curiously. There’s something about her that looks familiar.

“Yes, I’m Dr Kara Danvers. How can I help you, ma’am?”

“My name is Rhea Woods of Daxam Inc. I’m on the board here at the hospital, but I’m sure you’ve met my son, Mon-El?”

“Mon-El? I’m sorry, that name’s not familiar.”

Rhea sighs, rolling her eyes. “Mon-El is my son’s given name, but everyone seems to call him Mike for some unfathomable reason. He’s one of your residents.”

“Not mine, specifically. In fact, as of today he’s been permanently removed from my service,” Kara says. There’s not point beating around the bush. If Rhea is here talking to her then clearly she’s already spoken to J’onn. Kara really does _hate_ the hospital gossip mill.

“So I’ve heard,” Rhea says, a menacing undertone lacing her words. “I’ve heard Dr J’onzz’s version of events, but I’d like to hear yours.”

Ok, Kara can see the older woman’s not going to back down from this so she holds firm. Kara’s in the right in this and she refuses to be pushed around. She crosses her arms across her chest and meets Rhea’s eyes head on.

“Mrs Woods-“

“Rhea, please. Mrs Woods is my mother-in-law,” Rhea replies absentmindedly.

“ _Rhea_ , we’re in the business of saving lives. People come to this hospital to get better and they expect a certain level of care, as you can probably imagine. Your son is insubordinate towards his attendings and expects everything to be handed to him on a silver platter. We all work hard to get where we are and I’m sure that you can agree that you yourself didn’t become the CEO of a fortune 500 company simply by not doing the work. Dr Woods refused to attend rounds with me today and did not respond to any of my pages. Would you allow that kind of doctor to operate on you?”

Rhea’s eyes narrow even further, but Kara doesn’t stop there.

“The answer you’re looking for is no, you wouldn’t. I then overheard your son speaking freely and inappropriately about both myself and my sister to another resident, who, I assure you, is dangerously close to being kicked out of the program. I don’t have a grudge against your son. Do I like Dr Woods? No,” Kara admits a little begrudgingly, but no one can really blame her for that. “But do I expect all of my residents to do their jobs? Yes, and that’s all I have to say on the matter.”

Kara doesn’t really know what she’s expecting the other woman to do because surely, even with all of her influence as a board member, she can’t really save her son from this kind of fuck-up. Rhea doesn’t say anything else, doesn’t even acknowledge Dr Danvers as she storms off in a similar fashion to how her son had done earlier. Kara looks around and she’s disappointed to find that their little discussion had attracted quite the curious crowd, with doctors and patients’ alike stopping in their tracks. The hospital staff admittedly looks a little taken aback, even a little proud and Kara takes pleasure in that.

_Forget the drink_ , she thinks as her fingertips massage her temple. _I just want to go to bed_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always let me know what you think and again, if you have any suggestions I'll do my best to write them in somehow. Thank you so much for your support, you're all freaking amazing!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again it's a little shorter than the first couple of chapters, but I'm on a bit of a roll and it felt like a good place to end it.

Kara’s life in National City finally settles into a familiar pattern after a few weeks. She’s no closer to fully furnishing her apartment beyond two new bookcases and she still has stacks of boxes lying around, but it’s not like she’s actually in often enough for it to make any kind of difference. All Kara needs is her bed and a fully stocked fridge and she’s happy.

Still, Kara should probably get around to _actually_ moving in. Maggie’s been pestering her for a housewarming party for over a week and, admittedly, Kara thinks it’s a good idea. Everything at the hospital’s been kind of tense ever since the fallout from the whole Woods debacle, which was as bad as expected: Dr Rothenberg was suspended without pay for two weeks for his remarks about Alex and Kara (Kara personally thinks the douchebag should’ve been kicked out of the surgical program, but then again she feels some kind of satisfaction knowing his career is more or less over. Chauvinistic prick); Dr Woods, on the other hand – and Kara is really fucking annoyed about this – only had his OR privileges rescinded and is on clinic duty until further notice. _The batteries in my pager died_. Kara was sorely tempted to throw the charger at his head (she still is). How that was even considered a valid excuse remains a mystery. Maggie’s bet’s on bribery; Alex simply thinks Rhea scared the shit out of the rest of the board members and J’onn refuses to say anything to the contrary.  

Kara hasn’t seen either of the two Woods’ since and for that she’s grateful. Her fellow can deal with the asshole whenever J’onn sees fit to let Dr Woods back into the surgical wards, and hopefully that some time is far, far away because he is _never_ coming near _her_ patients again.

The staff, the residents especially, all seem to walk on eggshells around her now; a fact which Maggie finds hilarious because Kara is literally the least intimidating person she knows, yet now the blonde has the interns eating out of the palms of her hands and scrambling to do whatever Kara asks them to. Kara’s hoping this wears off soon because it’s a little ridiculous.

Today’s dragged more than usual due to the near insurmountable amount of paperwork Kara’s been left to fill in by her predecessor, who, let her just say, was not the most organised of people. All of her patient files are scattered across three different cabinets with no discernible order to the chaos and needless to say, Kara’s going a little crazy.

She’s sat cross-legged on the carpeted floor surrounded by dozens of folders, the ones Kara’s actually managed to sort through anyway. She’d kill for a consult right about now, literally anything to take her away from this mind-numbingly boring task. Her wrist aches as she idly taps her against the side of her cheek, humming to herself. Maybe this is why Dr Preston retired; he was sick of all the paperwork, Kara thinks to herself, a little bitterly.

The hours trickle by leisurely, but Kara’s mostly able to tune out the traffic of the bustling streets below her office and the various commotions within the hospital itself, by focusing entirely on the pitter-patter of the raindrops against the windows of her tiny office. Thunder rattles the glass every now and then and streaks of lightning flash against a tempestuously dark sky, but Kara finds it soothing as she slowly makes her way through the gradually dwindling pile of paperwork. Despite the fact that she’s naturally a messy person, she promises herself to never let it get this bad. Ever.

It’s been raining all week and while Kara loves a quiet rainy day as much as the next person, the near perpetual humidity of the past seven days has been wreaking havoc on her blonde hair and frizz does _not_ good on her.

Kara’s still tapping her pen against her cheek when her phone buzzes in her lab coat pocket. It’s Alex.

_Hey, wanna grab a beer after work? Maggie and I are off at 7._

Kara stretches her neck to look at the clock to the right of her desk. 6:45pm. She squints at the brightness of her screen, not quite realising it was as late as that and types back that she’s in, rubbing tiredly at her eyes. Kara looks back at the files and decides there’s no point in tidying up when she has to go through them all again in the morning so she leaves everything as it is and turns off the lights before locking the door, pocketing the keys.

Kara hangs up her lab coat and pulls her scrub top over her heard, shivering slightly as the sudden chill of the attendings’ lounge hits her skin and raises goose bumps up and along her arms. Buttoning up her polka-dotted white shirt, she wishes she brought a heavier coat instead of her light leather jacket as the rain seems to grow heavier with each passing hour. At least the bar is only across the road.

Her cheeks are rosy and her glasses foggy as she enters Heather’s bar, thankful that it’s much warmer inside than out. Kara spots Alex and Maggie cuddled up next to one another in a booth by the pool table, already nursing a beer each. They’re a little reluctant to pull away from each other to make room for Kara, but they do so anyway. Kara plops down beside Maggie, her wet hair dripping onto the table and chair.

“Forget your umbrella?” Maggie asks cheekily, wrapping an arm around Alex’s shoulders.

Kara scowls, but doesn’t give Maggie the satisfaction of a reply as she wriggles out of her jacket and lays it on the back of the seat to dry. It’s busy, but not as lively as the first night Kara came here. She can still hear herself think over the music this time.

“I’m just gonna go and dry off in the bathroom,” Kara says.

She pushes her way through the crowd that’s trying to get to the bar and finds the bathrooms at the end of a longish hallway that’s dimly lit. Kara’d honestly hate to be stumbling down here when drunk. She can barely see a thing and she’s perfectly sober.

There’s only two stalls and they’re both empty as Kara closes the door behind her. She winces when she sees her reflection in the mirror: her hair is wet and matted to the side of her face, still dropping water onto the counter. Her make-up isn’t as bad as she thought it’d be; there’s no mascara running down her cheeks and her lipstick still looks ok, though it could use a touch up. Kara squeezes the remaining water from her hair and does her best to fix the tousled mess, but it’s no use and she resigns herself to pulling the strands into a high ponytail. There’s a large wet patch on the front of her shirt that there’s nothing she can do about other than bemoan her choice of bra for the day. Dark blue and perfectly visible. Great, just great.

A few moments later the door swings open to reveal a frazzled Lena Luthor, for once not looking her absolute best.

“Oh, hey,” Kara says, trying her hardest not to stare and failing miserably.

Her dark hair is pulled into a tight bun above her head, a few loose strands coming down to frame her face. Her eyeliner is a little runny and her trademark red lipstick is smudged ever so slightly, but to Kara she’s never looked more beautiful and she bites her lip to stop herself from saying so outright. Friends, they’re _just_ friends, Kara reminds herself.

“Kara?” It comes out more questioningly than Lena would’ve liked. She hadn’t expected to see the blonde and she’s a little embarrassed to be looking like a drowned rat.

“Guess you forgot your umbrella as well, huh?” Kara chuckles, leaning back against the edge of the sink.

“What gave it away?” Lena asks, a sardonic smile on her face. “Do you mind if I..?”

“Sorry, I’m in your way. I’ll just ah- move over there.”

Kara moves to the second sink and digs through her back for her lipstick, finding it at the very bottom. She sees Lena out of the corner of her eye wiping at her eyes and reapplying her eye make-up and it’s distracting just how stunning she is. Her green eyes are alight and her jaw line alone is a gift from the gods and Kara could just- _Stop it_. This is _not_ happening again.

She turns back towards her own mirror, ignoring the way her heart is thumping in her chest and focuses on her lips. It’s one of her favourites, a subdued pink that compliments her eyes nicely.  When she’s done she tucks the lipstick tube back into her bag and is surprised to see Lena staring at her with haltingly darkening eyes.

There’s something fizzling beneath Kara’s skin, an undercurrent of energy that’s just begging to be released and she can feel it echoing in the air around them, closing in and inching closer and closer. And Kara knows, she just _knows_ that if she closes her eyes she can still imagine the faint taste of Lena’s lips on hers.

 Her breath catches in her throat as Lena moves toward her slowly, achingly so until Kara’s boxed in between the sink and the wall with Lena’s hands on either side of her hips.  

“Kara, I-“ Lena’s voice breaks, tone unconsciously low as her eyes flicker to Kara’s parted lips. Her nails are digging into Kara’s sides, drawing a gasp out of the blonde.

There’s barely a hairsbreadth between them and all Kara would need to do is lean forward and their lips would meet. It’s excruciating, it really is because she wants to, desperately so; she’s so terribly tempted and Lena’s more than willing and right in front of her looking beyond stunning.

Kara gives in and captures and captures her lips in a searing kiss, filled with all the unresolved tension of the past few weeks. This time it’s Lena who melts into Kara, sighing against her mouth and drinking in everything Kara has to offer.

It’s the sound of a bottle breaking in the bar area that tears them apart, both of them breathing in heavily and that’s when Kara remembers just who she came to the bar with. _Shit_.

Lena must see the panic that flashes across the blonde’s eyes because she holds her hands up to stop her from bolting from the bathroom.

“Kara, please… Just wait, ok? We need to talk about this and I know now’s not the time, but tomorrow? Please.”

Kara nods jerkily, not quite trusting her own voice or her heart for that matter because she wants nothing more than to stay.

“I-I’ll let you go, but _please_ don’t shut me out. I want this, I want _you_.”

Kara’s not proud of the fact that she more or less sprints out of the bathroom and ignores Lena’s pleading look that’s begging her to stay for just a moment longer. She can feel Lena’s eyes boring into her retreating figure as she makes her way back to her sister and Maggie. The couple are on their second round of drinks and there’s a beer waiting for Kara when she sits down, wordlessly taking a large gulp.

“You were gone a long time. Is everything ok?” Alex prods, seeing the look on Kara’s face.

Kara shakes her head and plasters a smile on her face that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m fine, just a little tired. It’s been a long day.”

Alex doesn’t look convinced, but she lets it go, for now. She knows Kara will talk when she’s ready.

“So,” Maggie says, eager to change the subject and change the mood at the table. “J’onn’s given me permission to set up a little competition for tomorrow, something to cheer the interns up after the last couple of weeks.”

Kara’s eyes brighten a little at that. “What kind of competition?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see like the rest of them, Little Danvers but it’s gonna be fun.”

“What’s the prize? You have to have a prize or they won’t care.”

“Ah, that’s where I was hoping you might be able to help. Got any cool surgeries tomorrow?”

Kara shakes her head. “Just routine stuff tomorrow, but Lena- _Dr Luthor_ has that translabyrinthine craniotomy.”

Maggie’s looking giddier by the minute. “That’s _perfect_! She’s over there, lemme just go and ask her.”

Maggie’s right. Lena’s sat on her own, at a high table on the opposite end of the bar and ignoring everyone around her. She’s a little startled to see Maggie and even more so when the tiny brunette begins to drag her towards… Oh no, oh no. Fuck. Why does this keep happening to her? If the world could swallow Kara up right about now, that’d be great. That’d fan-fucking-tastic.

Lena looks about as pleased with the situation as Kara does as Maggie pushes her towards the empty space next to Kara, and that’s saying something because Kara feels absolutely horrible.

Maggie kisses Alex on the cheek as she takes her seat beside her girlfriend and stares expectantly at the neurosurgeon. “Any chance I can ask for a favour?”

“That depends entirely on the favour,” Lena replies, a little flippantly.

“I’m gonna run a competition for the interns tomorrow because they’ve been moping like lost puppies for the past couple of weeks and they need to remember why they decided to become surgeons. And a little competition never hurt anybody.”

“And you need me because…?”

“Is there any chance the winner could scrub in on your translabyrinthine craniotomy? I’d owe you big time.” Maggie’s dimples are out in full force and even Lena knows resistance is futile, but she pretends to mull it over in her head.

“Fine,” Lena relents. “But they only get to scrub in. I don’t trust an intern to do anything other than watch.”

Maggie fist-bumps into the air as high as she can manage and kisses Alex soundly on the lips.

“Yes! You’re the best, Luthor. I’ll see you both tomorrow, kay? Alex and I need to sort out all the details.”

Alex doesn’t have any say in the matter as her girlfriend forcibly drags her from the booth and pushes her towards the bar’s exit. “Fucking dimples,” Kara hears her mutter under her breath.

Kara takes another sip of her beer and looks at Lena. She’s picking at the label on her own beer bottle and pointedly refusing to meet Kara’s gaze.

“We might as well talk now,” Kara says quietly. She doesn’t like seeing Lena like this, especially when she knows it’s her fault. “I have a feeling Maggie did that on purpose.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Lena says. “Sawyer’s always been a perceptive little shit. She knows, you know? About…” Lena waves the air in between the two of them.

“She _what_?!”

“Kara,” Lena says, some measure of fondness returning into her voice as she meets Kara’s blue eyes. “I didn’t tell her, I haven’t told anyone, in fact. She just guessed.”

Somehow Kara’s not surprised. Maggie always knows everything.

“Lena, I like you,” Kara finally settles on. She feels it’s important for Lena to know that before anything else is said.

“Then why did you-“

“I’ve said this before; you scare the shit out of me.”

Lena nods, she gets that. She does, because she’s scared as well. “Ok, we can agree on that. We’re both scared about this, but I want to try.”

“You do?” Lena really doesn’t like how sceptic Kara sounds and she can see it in her eyes, the questioning look that’s analysing everything she says and does.

“Kara,” Lena says, reaching out to take Kara’s hand in hers. “I know it might not look like it, but I don’t flirt with every woman that passes through the hospital. I flirt with you because I like you, not because I’m messing around. I really want to try this.”

“Ok.” It’s said so quietly that Lena can barely make it out against the loud background of the bar and the heady bass that’s vibrating through the floor.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Let’s try.” And then Lena’s smiling, smiling so brightly that Kara’s breath catches in her throat because this woman is just so goddamn beautiful when she smiles. Kara’s desperate to kiss her again, but she keeps herself in check. She’s not ready for them to acknowledge whatever they are in public just yet.

“So, Kara Danvers,” Lena says, eyes dancing with delight. “Would you like to go on a date with me?”

Kara’s laughing then, at the formality of it all, but then again she’s come to expect the unexpected whenever it comes to one Dr Lena Luthor and she shakes her head affectionately.

“Yes, I’d like to go on a date with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think, I love hearing from you all!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My brain hurts from how much googling went into this chapter. Did you guys know that you can actually watch surgeries online? My mind is blown. Apologies to any med students, doctors or any kind of medical professional that is reading this and thinking what the actual hell is this girl doing, I promise I did my best.

Kara can’t remember the last time she’d woken up with a smile as wide as the one she’s currently sporting, as she stretches in bed and kicks the sheets over the edge. She’s proud of herself for last night, for ignoring her instincts that were practically screaming at her to run and choosing, instead, to actually _talk_ to Lena. It’s something Kara’s never been particularly good at – the talking thing and it’s probably ruined more than a fair share of her relationships, not that Kara’s had that many over the years, but the point still stands.

She _likes_ Lena. She likes her a lot and she likes kissing her even more. Nobody can really blame her for that though, the woman is drop-dead gorgeous and genuinely nice once you get past the flirting, which Kara’s pretty sure is just a front for what’s really underneath and she is nothing if not determined to peel away every layer.

Kara takes her time picking out an outfit for the day. She and Lena haven’t exactly chosen a day for their date yet, but with their schedules being as unpredictable as they are, they think it’s best to just go with the flow and they’ll just grab dinner whenever a free evening presents itself, hence the Kara’s need to look presentable.

She settles on a nice pair of jeans that are a pretty burgundy colour that she knows goes well with the blue and white checkered shirt and light brown oxfords she has holed up in the back of the closet. Kara has a matching leather belt somewhere, if she could just – aha! Ok, she thinks she’s good to go as she looks herself over in the mirror once more for posterity. She doesn’t have time to dry her hair properly or to curl it beyond her own natural waves, but it’s nice outside, a little chilly maybe but sunny and she’s only walking a couple of blocks after all so she pulls it into a tight ponytail instead.

She’s right about the weather: there’s a cool breeze about the city that has Kara instinctively tugging her cardigan closer to her chest, as soon as she steps outside her apartment block, but at least it’s not raining like the night before. There’s not a cloud in sight and it looks as though it’s shaping up to be a lovely spring day.

The parking lot is still more or less empty when she arrives at the hospital. There are only a few cars that are scattered across the different zones, but she recognises Alex's SUV parked near the entrance and that’s when she remembers the game Maggie has planned for the interns, and probably why her sister’s at the hospital so early because she could’ve sworn Alex’s shift didn’t start until well after eleven. Alex denies it vehemently whenever Kara teases her, but she’s so _whipped_.

Lena is one of the first people she comes across, entirely too engrossed in the chart she’s reading to notice Kara’s presence until the blonde taps her on her shoulder. She jumps slightly at the touch, but relaxes as soon as she meets Kara’s warm gaze and bright smile. Lena’s wearing her hair down today and Kara’s itching to run her fingers through the dark tresses when the other woman tucks an errant strand behind her ear.

“Hi,” Kara beams at her. Lena doesn’t think she’s ever going to get used to that smile.

“Hi yourself,” Lena says.

Kara moves a little closer, just enough to enter the other woman’s personal space without seeming too untoward, or for anyone else to think that the conversation they were having was anything but a friendly chat between two friends, but the pair of them know better.

Lena’s eyes narrow playfully, but she’s secretly pleased. She’d half expected Kara to hide away from her again after last night, or at least pretend that what happened in the bathroom was a one-off so she’s eager to explore Kara’s newfound forwardness.

“Are you busy?” Kara asks. “I have a little time before rounds if you wanted to grab a cup of coffee and a muffin?”

“Why, Dr Danvers,” Lena says teasingly, putting a hand to her chest. “Are you asking me on a _date_?”

Kara rolls her eyes, because of course Lena couldn’t resist flirting with her first thing in the morning. It still doesn’t stop the butterflies in her stomach from fluttering happily.

“I think we can aim for something a little higher than crappy coffee and stale muffins, don’t you?”

Lena’s smirk widens.  “Admit it; you just want to get me in a little black dress.”

Kara’s mouth immediately goes dry at the thought. The visuals alone… Dear god. She’s no idea how she’s going to make it through the rest of the day with _that_ running through her mind.

“Or, maybe I want to see you _out_ of it.” Kara doesn’t quite know where that’s come from, but it has the desired effect because Lena’s speechless… and a little proud, if she’s honest. She didn’t know Kara had it in her.

“Coffee it is, Dr Danvers. And just so you know, Kara, if you wanted to see me naked again, all you had to do was _ask_.”

This woman is going to be the death of her. Kara knows it; Lena knows it. Hell, even Susan knows it and it’s only a matter of time before Lena says something that makes her melt into a metaphorical puddle of goo.

“Come on, _Dr Luthor_. You’re buying.”

*** *** ***

Paperwork’s kept her busy most of the day, but it’s not as bad now that she’s finally figured out Dr Preston’s system. She has most of the files organised in alphabetical order and stacked by her desk ready for refiling, but Kara’s going to bribe an intern to do it for her later. She’s been looking forward to the final round of Maggie’s little competition all day and last she heard a young intern by the name of Jess was in the lead by five points, followed by a Luke. The envelopes Maggie had given her are still unopen in her pocket and she’s expecting a page – Kara glances at the clock – soon-ish actually if the interns carry on at the rate they’ve been going.

She has surgery in a little while and Kara’s a little disappointed she won’t be able to watch Lena’s craniotomy from the gallery, but they’ve made tentative plans for drinks later on at a bar that’s _not_ Heather’s. The last thing Kara needs is to run into her sister or anyone else from the hospital during her date with Lena and it’s killing her, really, the fact that she’s not able to gush to Alex all about the neurosurgeon. There’s also the tiny detail that Alex hates Lena, like seriously doesn’t like her, but Kara will deal with that when the time comes. What Alex doesn’t know won’t hurt her, besides; Kara doesn’t even know what she and Lena _are_ yet.

Her pager goes off a few moments later, however it’s not the page she’s expecting. It’s from Winn saying he has the lab results for one of her patients? Kara frowns. She doesn’t remember sending for any labs and she’s pretty sure Dr Raatko would’ve told her if she was running anything down to toxicology. Huh, weird.

 It doesn’t get any less weird when she reaches the nurses’ station and Winn is wearing a secretive grin that immediately puts Kara on edge.

“Dr Danvers,” he greets. Kara already doesn’t like where this is going. “A little birdie has been telling me things.”

“What things?” she asks a little wearily. She’s no longer leaning against the desk counter, her posture now becoming more defensive.

“That you and a certain neurosurgeon were looking _very_ cosy at Heather’s last night.”

_Oh_. Kara thought that- Never mind. It’s not as bad as it could’ve been.

“We’re friends now and we were having drinks, it’s no big deal,” Kara says, shrugging her shoulders. Should she be worried that she’s getting kind of good at this whole lying thing? “Now, do you actually have labs for me or did you page me down here for the latest gossip?”

Winn has the decency to look at least a little chagrined and he sinks into his chair. “Ehm, no. Sorry. I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”

Kara sighs. “No, you actually did me a favour. I was sick of looking at paperwork.”

Winn nods sagely. “I’ve heard things about Dr Preston’s office. I’m not surprised it’s taken you this long to sort through it.”

“You hear a lot of things, don’t you Winn?”

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s not your fault.” Kara sighs again, adjusting her glasses. “I’m just not a fan of gossip and I feel like everyone’s eyes have been on me ever since I got here.”

Winn smiles sympathetically, feeling a little guilty that he’s not really helped with the whole gossiping thing. And the truth is, he actually likes Dr Danvers. She’s not as condescending as some of the other surgeons and she doesn’t treat the nurses like they’re her own personal maids.

“If it makes you feel any better, everyone will probably move on soon. There’s always some scandal going on.”

“That’s… not really reassuring,” Kara says, but Winn shrugs.

Just as Winn opens his mouth to reply, a woman comes sprinting around the corner, coming to a stop right in front of Kara.

“Jess?” Kara guesses, pulling the first envelope from her pocket. The woman looks and nods from her hunched over position, her hands on her knees as she tries to get her breath back.

Kara reads the card over quickly and she’s a little disappointed to be honest. This is the best Maggie could come up with? Jess looks at her expectantly.

“Ok, give me the correct diagnosis for the following symptoms: tachycardia, angioedema, hypertension, severe chest and abdominal pains, difficulty breathing and a tight-“

“Anaphylactic shock!” Jess exclaims, perhaps a little too loudly. The few patients who are walking about the hallway all turn their heads curiously in their direction.

“Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner,” Kara says and takes out the second the second envelope, handing it to Jess. “The other Dr Danvers is the last on your list. If you get that right, you win the prize.”

“Any chance you’ll tell me what the prize is?” Jess asks, hopeful.

“Nope, sorry, but I promise it’s a good one. Good luck!”

Kara’s no idea where Alex is, but she’s pretty sure Jess is going to win at this point because the next intern doesn’t come to see her until a half an hour later and it’s not Luke. She’s a little horrified to learn that the intern – a woman called Lindsay - doesn’t know the difference between a severe allergic reaction and endocarditis, but at least that’s something Kara can fix now before the young woman incorrectly diagnoses a _real_ patient.

“Maggie was right,” Kara says to Winn. “Interns really are lost puppies.”

Winn wisely chooses not to mention the fact that Kara’s scrub cap is literally covered with pictures of pugs.

*** *** ***

“I didn’t know you and Lena were friends,” Kara mentions casually to Maggie as they prep to scrub in on their surgery.

The brunette scoffs and shoots Kara a look. Subtlety is not Kara’s forte. Admittedly Kara knows she could have broached the subject in a slightly different way.

“Kara, Lena and I have been friends since before even Alex started working here. We were in the same intern rotation. What do you _really_ want to know?”

Kara looks down guiltily; a light flush has taken over her cheeks. _Busted_.

“Lena told me that you _know_ about… That we- that she and I-“

“That you had sex. Really, Little Danvers, it’s not that big a deal.”

“I didn’t know who she was when _it_ happened,” Kara says quietly. “I didn’t think I’d ever see again, let alone find out she actually works at the same hospital as me.”

“Again, it’s not that big a deal,” Maggie repeats, turning off the water. “You’re both adults and you clearly like each other, so why not go for it?”

“I just… I don’t know.”

Maggie’s eyes soften when Kara’s whole form visibly sags. “Look, Lena really likes you. If you’re worried about Alex, she’ll get over it. Just, you know, take it one step at a time and see where it goes. There’s no harm in that.”

“Thanks, Mags. I needed to hear that. Now, shall we go fix that little boy’s leg?”

“I thought you’d never ask, Little Danvers.”

Everything is ready for them when they enter the OR, from the placement of the surgical trays, to the concealed saw that lies hidden beneath a sheet, far away from the eyes of the frightened little boy on the table. It takes a second or two for Kara’s eyes to adjust to the brightness of the lamps, but her first thought is for the whimpering four year old, who’s already close to tears. She and Maggie are performing a tibia fracture repair on Tommy Robertson’s leg: the poor kid fell out of tree while playing with his friends and from the x-ray Maggie showed her yesterday, it’s unlikely the injury will heal without surgery.

“Hey, Tommy,” Kara says. “How are you feeling, buddy?”

“It hurts really, really badly,” Tommy cries, his eyes glistening with tears. Kara holds his hand and squeezes it gently.

“I know, buddy. I know. But you see Dr Sawyer over there? She’s going to make you feel better, ok? We’re going to fix your leg.”

“You promise?” His bottom lip is trembling and he just looks so scared that Kara’s heart clenches painfully in her ribcage. It’s not at all pleasant.

 “I promise, Tommy. You like robots, right? They’re your favourites?” The little boy nods jerkily. “Well, what if told you that you’re going to be a cyborg when you wake up.”

Tommy’s eyes widen significantly and he looks at Kara a little in awe.

“Really?” he asks.

“You bet, buddy, and the best part is that it’s not going to hurt a bit. You’re going to go to sleep for a little while and you’ll be as good as new when you wake up.”

“Ok. Will you hold my hand?”

Kara smiles at him. “Of course. I’m going to put this mask on you now and it’s going to make you feel really sleepy, ok? Do you think you could count back from ten for me, please, Tommy?”

“Ok… Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four…”

“I think he’s out, Dr Danvers,” a nurse says.

Kara double checks his nerve responses just to be sure, but he’s unconscious. She turns towards Maggie.

“Would you like to do the honours, Dr Sawyer?”

“You say the sweetest things, Kara. Are you sure I’m dating the right Danvers sister?”

Kara chuckles and hands her friend the scalpel.

“In your dreams, Maggie.”

“Guess I’m stuck with Alex. What a shame. Ok then, shall we get this show on the road? Sarah, could you put my playlist on for me, please? I’m feeling some Kings of Leon today.”

“Yes, Dr Sawyer.”

The first riffs of _Sex On Fire_ begin just as Maggie makes the first incision just above Tommy’s left knee, carefully digging into the tissue while an intern wipes at the blood that has trickled out of the wound.

“Kara, could you retract this for me? Yeah, right there.” Kara pulls on the retractors, further opening up the incision site so Maggie has a better access and visibility to the patellar tendon.

“Ok, can I have an n.11 please and could someone adjust the light a little?” Maggie asks.

“Right away, Dr.”

“That’s perfect. Thank you, Sarah. A little suction right there, Kara.”

“You know, I can’t remember the last time I shared an OR with you, Mags,” Kara says, handing the suction tip to the intern and inserting the second set of retractors just as Maggie makes a second incision on the tendon.

“That’s because _some_ of us didn’t move half way across the country to do their fellowship,” Maggie replies. She’s not looking at Kara, but at the structure of the tibial plateau and the best place from which to insert the guide wire into the tibial shaft. “Can I have a 9mm drill, please?”

The music switches to _Molly’s Chambers_.

“Oh _please_. As if you would’ve passed on the opportunity to work with Dr Prince _and_ Dr Grant. Dr Grant practically reinvented modern general surgery.”

“True,” Maggie concedes. She’s still a little jealous of that. “But Metropolis doesn’t have _me_ , so really, I think you missed out.” Maggie winks at her over the patient’s body.

The orthopaedic surgeon grabs an awl from the tray beside her and uses it to enlarge the hole in the tibia.

“You’re impossible. How does Alex put up with you?”

“It’s all in the dimples, Kara. It’s all in the dimples. Could you hand me the nail, the intramedullary one? I’m so excited to turn this kid into a cyborg.”

Maggie places the nail over the wire and hammers it across the fracture site and Kara can’t help the wince that escapes her. There’s a reason she never particularly liked ortho and this right here is why. Even the intern looks a little green in the face, but he’ll either get used to it or he’ll soon find himself in a different program. She hears derm is pretty good.

Another hour goes by and Maggie’s playlist changes to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers with _Can’t Stop_ blasting from the OR speakers. They’re almost done; Maggie makes a separate incision, just a couple of inches away from the larger site and she fixes in the proximal screw that locks the titanium nail to the tibia. She repeats the process once more further down the leg to pin the nail in place.

Satisfied with her and Maggie’s work, Kara removes the retractors and sutures up the wound with staples and lets the intern take Tommy back up to his room.

Maggie’s left to speak with the parents, but not without leaving Kara with a parting wink as soon as she’d spotted Lena’s name pop up on Kara’s phone. The blonde vows to get her back one day, she really does. Nevertheless, a pleased smile works its way onto Kara’s face at the sight of Lena’s name. Her chest feels warm as she reads the text message.

**_Lena_ ** _: Hey, my surgery is running a little late, but should be done by 8 if you wanted to go out for dinner? Please say yes x **18:37**_

**_Kara_ ** _: I’ve just finished up with Maggie, but I’m definitely up for that x_ **19:04**

Kara, of course, knows that Lena won’t be checking her phone for at least another fifty minutes, but that gives her time to grab a much needed shower and look semi-decent for her date.

A date with Lena Luthor, who would’ve thought?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Not the date, but I promise that's next! I actually watched the surgery that Maggie performed and I'm a little grossed out, if I'm honest. Let me know what you think x


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay, I was hoping to have this up by Sunday night but I got distracted what with the Premier League being back on and another Supercorp fic that I'm working on. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

**_Lena_ ** _: Great! I’m just going to grab a shower and get changed. Meet me in the lobby in 20? **20:07**_

Kara must have re-read the text message at least half a dozen times in the past fifteen minutes and scanned the lobby for Lena’s trademark dark hair close to double that amount in the last five minutes alone. It’s not that she’s nervous or anything… Kara’s just feeling a little tense; jittery. She’s not been on a date in a while and it’s always jarring when it’s with someone you really like and Kara _really likes_ Lena.

So, maybe she _is_ a little nervous.

Her foot is idly tapping the tiled floor as her eyes dart back and forth between the elevator doors and the stairway entrance. It’s fine. Lena’s not stood her up; she’s just a little late, is all which is _totally_ fine. She probably just wanted an extra-long shower after staring at a brain for six hours and Kara gets it, she does. Hell, Kara herself took her time getting ready and it has absolutely everything to do with the amazing water pressure in the attendings’ showers and nothing at all to do with the fact that she wanted to look nice for her date. For which Lena has totally not stood her up. She thinks.

A few more minutes go by and Kara’s tapping grows a little more anxious, but it’s all worth it as soon as she spots Lena stepping out of the elevator. Kara has no words; she is literally speechless at just how stunningly beautiful Lena Luthor looks in the promised black dress and a long flowing red coat that perfectly matches her ever-present lipstick.

Lena smiles broadly as soon as she sees her, green eyes shining brightly. Kara barely resists the urge to kiss her then and there in front of reception and the other bystanders, so she settles for a brief hug and a slight brush of her lips against the shell of Lena’s ear.

“You’re late.” Kara whispers. Lena shivers at the touch and Kara takes that as a point in her favour. Kara 1 - Lena 6 (at least).

The blonde pulls back and notes with some satisfaction that Lena’s cheeks have coloured pink.

“Sorry,” Lena says. “Dr Haught wanted a last minute consult, but I’m _all_ yours now.”

Kara tries to ignore the way her heart stutters in her chest at the overt promise that lies within Lena’s words, but it’s no use and from the knowing glint she sees in Lena’s eyes, Kara knows she’s unsuccessful.

Kara clears her throat. “I’m hoping you know a good place to go. I haven’t really had time to go out as you can imagine. But I have a _great_ list of take outs.”

Lena looks thoughtful for a moment as the two step outside into the night and walk side by side towards the main street. It’s unseasonably cold once again, decidedly cooler than it’d been that morning when Kara had left her apartment and she finds herself looking at Lena’s winter coat a little in envy.

“I know a few. Is there anything you don’t like?” Kara snorts.

“The day that happens is the day the world ends. Or so Alex says anyway. I’ll eat pretty much anything,” she says.

Lena considers that for a moment. “Ok, well there’s a food market downtown that stays open pretty late if you’d like to try that or we could go to a restaurant if you’d prefer to sit down somewhere?”

Kara smiles at her. “The food market sounds perfect.” And it does. The one in Metropolis was always crowded and luckily for Kara it was only a short walk away from the hospital. There was one stall and oh, her mouth waters at the mere thought of it - that sold the most amazing brownies ever. The perfect combination of gooeyness and chocolate that she’s tried and failed miserably to replicate, despite the fact that she’d begged and begged the owner for the recipe which she’d then followed to the letter. Kara’s fairly certain those brownies are responsible for her making it through her fellowship and she tells Lena as much.

“They were _unbelievably_ good.” Lena chuckles, her shoulders lightly brushing against Kara’s.

“You’ll have to take me there sometime then,” Lena says and Kara turns towards her, expression hopeful.

“Yeah?”

“I think it’s the least you can do after forcing me to eat that disgusting thing the hospital calls a muffin this morning,” Lena teases.

Kara looks down, feeling a little chagrined. They _were_ awful, but she’s not going to admit that to Lena. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh uh, I’m onto you, Kara Danvers. You’re not as innocent as you look.”

The more they walk, the more Kara knows she’s made the right decision in agreeing to a date with the neurosurgeon. She likes this side to Lena, her playfulness and the effortless charm she exudes just by being herself. They’re so close to one another that Kara can smell the faint traces of Lena’s perfume as their fingertips graze against each other with every other step they take and Kara’s still debating whether to link their fingers together when Lena makes the decision for her as if sensing the blonde’s indecision.

Lena’s hand feels warm in hers, but more importantly, it feels _right_. Kara glances sideways and sees the knowing smile gracing her date’s lips and she knows that Lena feels the same way.

“We’ve really gone about this the wrong way, haven’t we?” Kara comments.

“Mmh?”

“The whole dating thing,” Kara adds after seeing Lena’s questioning look. “We slept together, ignored each other – ok, ok _I_ ignored you – and we’ve somehow ended up here.”

“But here is good?”

Kara smiles at her and lifts their linked hands. “Here is definitely good.”

They carry on walking much in the same way until Lena begins to pull her in the direction of a large number of heavily lit booths and Kara’s entire face lights up like a Christmas tree. Her senses are assaulted by a wide variety of different smells, all of them mouth-watering and Kara doesn’t quite know where to go first. Does she try the paella a man is cooking in the biggest frying pan she’s ever seen or does she continue her stride towards the Chinese section where she knows there’ll be at least one stall with potstickers waiting for her? Or does she forgo dinner all together and head straight for the dessert stands and eat her weight in doughnuts and ice-cream? The possibilities are endless.

It’s only when Lena clears her throat that Kara sheepishly remembers that she’s on a date and not here to stuff her face (she makes a note to come back her by herself _just_ so she can eat to her heart’s content).

“Sorry, it’s just that everything smells _so_ good. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this place before. I can’t believe _Alex_ hasn’t told me it exists,” Kara says, barely controlling the urge to jump up and down in excitement.

Lena’s entire frame radiates amusement, from the way her lips quirk into a soft smile to the way her green eyes look on fondly as Kara rambles on.

“…Plus there’s _so much_ to choose from. How can you pick just _one_ thing to eat?”

“Kara, Kara, _Kara_ …” Lena drops Kara’s hands to put her hands on the blonde’s cheeks. “Darling, you can have anything you want. Personally I’m a fan of the Italian.”

When the neurosurgeon pulls away, there’s a brief flash of disappointment that crosses Kara’s face, but it’s quickly replaced by a blinding smile that leaves Lena breathless.

“Let’s go then,” the blonde says, tugging once more at Lena’s hand.

The food market is divided by cuisine and Kara stares longingly at the Indian and Chinese stalls as they walk by them before they finally reach the Italian section. She doesn’t recognise or understand the music that’s playing in the background, but it’s a happy enough tune and the people who _do_ understand it are singing along jovially.

“ _Signora Luthor! Dio mio, ma è proprio lei?_ _Son passati fin troppi anni! Amore, guarda, guarda chi c’è! Giorgio, vieni qui!”_

Neither of them has much time to react, yet alone swivel around to the sound of the voice before Lena is swept up in a pair of strong arms that immediately wrap her in a warm hug. Kara has half a mind to intervene, but Lena’s impromptu and loud laugh makes her pause and look at the two women in confusion.

“Luisa,” Lena says. “It’s been far too long. And how many times have I told you to call me Lena? You don’t work for my family anymore.”

“ _Per me resterai sempre la mia piccola Luthor. Giorgio, vieni qui!_ ”

_“E datti una calmata, donna per la Madonna! L’udito ce l’ho ancora, eh!”_

Kara remains bemused, looking back and forth between Lena and the plump older woman who’s still yelling at an unseen man behind the stall closest to them. It’s all a little surreal, if she’s honest, especially when Lena nudges her slightly in the side to gain her attention.

“Kara, this is Luisa. She used to work for my family when I was younger.”

“Oh!” Kara exclaims. “It’s nice to meet you.” She moves to shake Luisa’s hand, but much like Lena; the woman wraps her in a hug and kisses her twice, once for each cheek.

“And you as well, my dear,” Luisa says in a thick Italian accent. “Lena is a treating you well, yes? Always so lovely that one, unlike her devil of a mother.”

“Let’s uh, not get into that,” Lena interjects before anything else can be said. It’s clear she really doesn’t want Kara to hear what else Luisa was about to say.

“Of course, of course. Now Lena you are looking a little thin, no? And you as well, Kara. I’ve made some ravioli. They’re still your favourite, yes? Giorgio’s made some sauce. _Giorgio_!”

Luisa lets out a long suffering, yet loving sigh when the man called Giorgio doesn’t answer her, but Kara gets the feeling this is a bit of a recurring theme for the couple. Luisa pats Lena on the cheek once before she leaves to fetch who Kara assumes is the woman’s husband.

“Luisa practically raised me,” Lena explains. “My mother was… absent to say the least once my brother left for college. I haven’t spoken to her in years.”

“Oh honey, I’m sorry,” Kara says. There’s not much else she can say, especially since Kara knows Lena isn’t looking for pity. She’s just stating a fact.

“It’s fine.” Lena smiles, though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m long past the point of caring what that woman thinks of me.”

Kara squeezes her hand in support and for that Lena shoots her a grateful look. It’s only a few moments later when Luisa comes back with two plates filled to the brim with ravioli and a wonderfully smelling sauce that has Kara’s mouth watering in an instant and a short, ageing man in tow. The man, who Kara guesses is Giorgio, has tanned skin and a short and unkempt grey beard that matches his hair. The corners of his eyes crinkle as he greets Lena with a slew of Italian words that Kara can’t even begin to understand, but the brunette throws her head back and laughs, genuinely laughs at whatever he’s said.

Kara could listen to the sound all day.

“ _Tieni, bella_ ,” Luisa says, holding up a plate. Kara’s not given a choice in the matter as Luisa more or less forces it into her hands.  It’s only polite, Kara argues (not that she needs much encouragement anyway. She’s _starving._ ) as she cuts a generous mouthful with the plastic fork and oh my god, Kara’s has died and gone to heaven. The raviolo practically melts in her mouth and it’s a beautiful contrast – the richness of the meat and the sweetness of the tomato sauce.

“Buono?” Luisa asks, perhaps a little unnecessarily. The woman knows full well that her food is delicious. And ‘buono’ is a word even Kara understands.

“Perfect. Amazing.” Kara replies. She takes another bite. She could happily eat this for the rest of her life.

Luisa nods and hands Lena the other plate, shooing away her husband to deal with the customers standing in line in front of their stall.

“You go and enjoy the rest of your date, yes? And come back soon, the both of you. _Giorgio, tagliami una fetta di tiramisu, per piacere_.”

Luisa refuses to take any money from them, to which Lena takes great offence considering the size of their portions and the inclusion of dessert, but the Italian stands firm despite both of their insistence. She says seeing Lena again is more than enough payment, but that she expects them (yes, Kara as well) to be back soon and to bring their appetites along with them. They begrudgingly accept, but only after assurances that the next time she would let them pay.

Food warm in their hands, Kara follows Lena as she leads them a little away from the market towards a strew of park benches that occupy the other side of the small park. Everything’s well-lit and it doesn’t take them long to find an unoccupied seat. Eager to delve into her food once more, Kara drops her bag beside her and places the container of tiramisu in the space in between herself and Lena.

The moan she lets out upon biting into another mouthful of ravioli is accidental and the reaction it elicits in her date is definitely unintentional, but welcome nonetheless, particularly when Lena’s eyes glaze over with something that can only be categorized as unbridled desire.

They don’t really speak as they eat their food, but the silence is comfortable and not at all awkward or strained. Lena’s a little more civilised in her eating habits – how she manages that while continuing to look regal is a mystery Kara has resolved to answer because she’s had sauce dribble down her chin at least twice in the past five minutes alone. Lena, of course, had chuckled and wiped it away with her finger, which she then promptly put in her mouth – something Kara will never be able to unsee. The image is forever engraved in her brain.

“I’m assuming you didn’t know Luisa and Giorgio had a stall in the market,” Kara says after they’ve both finished their food.

“No. My mother fired Luisa when I was in high school. Said I was growing too attached to the _staff_ and wasn’t focused enough on my studies, or something along those lines. It was all very hush hush and not to be spoken about again, and I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t look for her when I finally moved out of the house.”

Kara puts a hand on her arm. “Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed about. It happens. At least now you can reconnect and please do, because her food is amazing.” Her attempt at lightening the situation is a success as Lena gets this look in her eyes that Kara’s come to recognise as her ‘soft’ look and it’s when Lena Luthor looks most kissable (though another part of Kara’s mind would argue that Lena Luthor _always_ looks kissable).

“It really is, isn’t it? You haven’t even tried the tiramisu yet. It’s to _die_ for.”

“I bet,” Kara whispers unconsciously, unaware she’s even uttered the words aloud. She finds herself in a bit of a daze, taking in every aspect of Lena, memorising her every feature. The woman before her is simply striking and in that moment Kara wants nothing more than to kiss her.

She moves closer, subtly moving the packaged tiramisu to the side, her movements purposefully slow just in case her advances are unwanted, but Lena makes no move to stop her. In fact, she just smiles at Kara in a way that makes the blonde’s heart stutter out of time. She caresses Lena’s cheeks, barely grazing the soft skin with her knuckles and the other woman subconsciously leans into the touch, eyes fluttering shut.

“Lena, I…” Kara says, voice barely above a whisper. “You give me premature ventricular contractions.”

It’s Lena who closes the rest of the distance between them, capturing Kara’s lips in a heated kiss that has her tingling from her head all the way down to her toes. Her head’s never felt lighter, though her stomach’s like lead, in all likelihood the only reason she’s not floating away. Lena pecks her lips one last time as she pulls away, a breathy sigh that echoes Kara’s own. God, how Kara’s managed to resist doing this again and again will forever be one of her main regrets.

“Kara, take me _home_.”

*** *** ***

It’s a loud banging on her front door that has Kara bolting up in bed and looking wide-eyed around her bedroom. Her face brightens momentarily as she catches sight of Lena’s still sleeping form, but the knocking persists until there’s a jingling of keys and a few muttered choice swear words as the person on the other side of her door fumbles with the lock. There’s another loud noise as the door slams against the wall, startling Lena into consciousness.

“Kara, are you in?” It’s Alex.

“Oh my god,” Kara mutters under her breath, but Lena doesn’t look too concerned.

The other woman yelps when Kara accidentally pushes her off the side of the bed and follows her down onto the floor. Two heads pop up to look over the side of the bed, the both of them frazzled and trying to keep quiet while eyeing Kara’s closed bedroom door warily.

“Oh my god,” Kara says again. Lena hits her none-too-gently in the arm. “Ow. I didn’t do that in purpose!”

“Kara, I know you’re in there. We need to talk.” They hear through the door.

Kara clears her throat, hoping to sound as nonchalant as possible. “Just gimme a sec, I’ll be right out.”

 Lena pulls the comforter tighter around herself and adjusts the pillow she’s holding against her chest. Kara looks at her, eyes panicky.

“Hide,” she whispers.

“ _What_?!”

“Hide,” Kara repeats a little more forcefully. “She can’t know you’re here. Please.”

“Are you serious- Of course you are. Where do you expect me to hide, the closet?”

Kara looks at her pleadingly, puppy dog eyes in full force. She’s screwed if this doesn’t work.

“Are you fucking- back in the…” Lena groans and huffs, but hustles into the closet, but not before fixing Kara with the most dangerous, withering glare she can muster, mouthing ‘ _You owe me for this_ ’. She does. Kara will literally do anything she wants if she can avoid having to tell Alex who she spent the night with.

Kara pulls the closest shirt available over her chest and grabs a pair of shorts. Carefully double checking that Lena is out of sight, she opens her bedroom door and Alex is there waiting with two steaming styrofoam cups of coffee. In her other hand she’s holding a red coat. Lena’s red coat.

“Want to tell me what Lena Luthor’s coat is doing in your apartment?”

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this headcannon that no matter the AU Lena can always speak multiple languages and because it's easier for me, Italian is always a recurrent one in my fics.  
> There's a couple of Italian phrases that translate to: 1) Miss Luthor! Oh my god, is it really you? It's been far too many years! Love, look, look who's here! Giorgio, come here!   
> 2) For me you will always be my Little Luthor. Giorgio, come here!   
> 3) Calm down, woman for goodness' sake! I still have my hearing, you know!   
> 4) Giorgio, cut me a piece of tiramisu, please!   
> Etc etc 
> 
> As always thank you so much for reading and don't forget to let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is way shorter than I would've liked, so I'm sorry about that. I've been super busy lately and for all of you who can't wait to be an adult, think again. It sucks. It sucks big time.

_“Want to tell me what Lena Luthor’s coat is doing in your apartment?”_

Oh fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Kara’s eyes dart around the room, looking anywhere but at the accusing expression she knows she’ll find on Alex’s face. She’ll need to remember to water that plant later on, it’s looking a little dead – and on another note, is it even _possible_ to kill a cactus?  

“Oh, that?” Kara says eventually, shrugging her shoulders. “Le-Lena let me borrow it to walk home in last night.”

“Lena Luthor lent you her $600 coat to essentially walk across the road?” Alex asks sceptically, narrowing her eyes. Her arms cross against her chest as she squares her shoulders. Kara knows this as Alex’s no-bullshit stance.

“She’s nice like that, you know,” Kara says. “She saw me shivering and was like, ‘Here’.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Kara repeats.

It’s a little unnerving the way Alex keeps looking at her like she’s waiting for Kara to slip up, to give even the littlest hint away.

“Are you sure there’s nothing you want to tell me, Kara?”

Kara blinks at her and huffs. “Of course not. Why would I have anything to tell you? We only so each other yesterday so there’s not much to tell really, unless you want to hear about what I had for dinner, which I doubt you do, but if you did-“

“Kara,” Alex interrupts, holding her hand up. Kara’s stomach drops; her sister _knows_.

“Why didn’t you tell me you two were friends?”

Oh. _Oh_. Maybe not.

Kara didn’t even realise the breath she was holding in escapes her lips. She can almost taste the relief on her tongue.

“Is it because of me?” Alex continues, not aware that Kara’s only barely paying attention, the blonde’s focus primarily on the fact that she might actually get away with this. For now anyway – she will have to tell her sister _eventually_. But just so long as eventually isn’t when Lena is hiding naked in her closet.

“Maybe,” Kara says in the smallest voice as she can muster. She does feel bad for lying, she really does, but Alex is just _Alex_ where Kara’s personal life is concerned. And well, when she doesn’t like the person Kara is dating, she _definitely_ lets her know it.

“But why?”

“You don’t like her, though I don’t really know why. I mean, sure, she’s annoying as hell sometimes and really arrogant-“

“Then why-“

“Let me finish,” Kara interrupts. “But she’s also really kind and actually kind of funny once you get to know her. So, maybe just give her a chance? For my sake at least?”

Alex grumbles under breath, something Kara can’t quite hear from where she’s standing, but the brunette’s aggressive posture drops and her face twists into something of a grimace.

“And we’re only friends anyway. It’s not as if we’re sleeping together or anything. God, can you imagine?” Kara chuckles nervously, hoping it has the desired effect.

It does. Alex’s scowl deepens fractionally.

“I really don’t want to be picturing my little sister sleeping with anyone, let alone Lena Luthor, Kara.”  

Kara claps her hands, looking pointedly at her sister. “Good, we’re on the same page then because I don’t want to picture you and Maggie going at it 24/7. There are things that I can’t unsee, you know. Deeply disturbing things.”

Alex rolls her eyes good naturedly, but chooses not to say anything else. Instead, she walks around Kara’s kitchen island to place the now barely steaming styrofoam cup on the counter.

“Anyway, I just stopped by to tell you that mom is visiting next week and attendance is mandatory. If I can’t get out of it, no one can and that includes you and Maggie. Please try to clear your schedule.”

“I’ll try my best,” Kara promises with a smile. The two sisters stand there awkwardly for a few minutes, neither knowing what else to say. Kara more so because she’s terrified that either Lena has had enough and decides to prance around Kara’s apartment naked (Kara doesn’t necessarily object to this scenario, but she’d rather her sister not witness what she might do should said occurrence happen), or even worse – Alex walking into her bedroom and see the state of it.  Neither are sequences of events she’d like to happen.

Alex shuffles her weight on from one foot to another before nodding and gracing Kara with one final smile.

“Please do. You know what she’s like. I’ll see you later?”

“Sure! We can get lunch or something. We can go to the food market down the street!”

“How do you know about that?”

Kara’s smile falters. “Oh. Lena told me about it. You know me and food.”

“Yeah… Anyway, I’ll see you later.”

Kara almost slumps against the wall as soon as her front door closes. That was… not how she was expecting her morning to go. She had slightly more pleasurable things on her mind. Things that involved herself, her bed and the woman who’s probably furious with her right now. Kara takes extra care when entering her bedroom, peering around the door and ready to dodge and duck should Lena rightfully decide to throw something at her.

“Lena?” Kara says, plopping herself on her bed.

There’s a number of things Kara’s expecting when Lena emerges from the closet: the first and foremost is a death glare that would have her sinking into her sheets and averting her eyes; the second is that the other woman would quickly get dressed and leave without so much as saying a word (Kara would probably deserve that, she knows); the third is Lena allowing Kara to make it up to her (Kara’s kind of hoping for this last one).

What she’s not expecting is for Lena to amble purposefully towards her, face blank and hips swaying in a way that has Kara’s eyes glazing over with desire. The second thing she’s not expecting is Lena pushing Kara back against the bed and straddling her hips. The third and final, and most unexpected thing is Lena inching closer and closer to her until she’s barely a hair’s width from Kara’s parted lips.

Kara’s eyes flutter shut in anticipation only for her hopes to be crushed when Lena pulls away abruptly, smirk firmly in place.

“That was mean,” Kara says almost petulantly. Lena rolls onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow.

“Oh, like you forcing me into a closet to hide from your sister?” It’s way too early for Lena’s eyes to be dancing with mischief like that.

“I’m sorry,” Kara says. “But it really wouldn’t have been a good idea for her to find you here. In my bed.”

“Because we’re _friends_.” Kara almost recoils from the way the words are more or less hissed at her, but Lena leans in closer once more, her breath ghosting against Kara’s mouth.

“Y-yes, technically we are,” Kara stutters.

“Friends don’t kiss though, do they?” Each word is punctuated by a brief brush of lips.

“Mmh some do,” Kara says, her hands come to rest on Lena’s sides. Safe territory.

“That is true, but we’re not really friends though are we, Kara?” Lena kisses her then, long and deep and Kara feels all the air leave her lungs, especially when Lena’s tongue licks along her bottom lip, begging for entrance which Kara readily gives. When they pull away, Kara’s insides are a bit of a mess and she doesn’t know whether to drag Lena’s face back towards hers or kiss a path down the long column of Lena’s neck instead, mapping out every inch of deliciously smooth skin. The possibilities are endless really, especially since Lena’s hooded eyes are staring quite unabashedly at her.

“No, definitely not friends,” Kara whispers a little breathlessly.

“Kara?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve thought of a way for you to make it up to me.”

*** *** ***

“Do you think Kara’s been acting kind of weird lately?”

Maggie looks up from her lunch mid-chew and glances quizzically at her girlfriend. Swallowing, she replies, “No, I don’t think so. Why?”

Alex sighs. “I don’t know, she just seems a little different for some reason.”

“Like happier?”

“Maybe? I don’t know anymore. Hey, did you know she was friends with Lena Luthor?”

“Sort of. I know Lena likes her.” Alex stops fiddling with her fork and snaps her gaze back to Maggie sharply.

“Like her how exactly?”

“Chill, Alex. They’re friends. There’s nothing wrong with Little Danvers having friends, right?” This is _so_ going to come back to bite her in the ass. Of that Maggie has no doubt.

“You’re right-“

“As usual.”

“Don’t push your luck, babe,” Alex says affectionately, patting the back of Maggie’s hand.

Maggie rolls her eyes. “No, but honestly, Lena’s cool. She helped me study for my boards, you know? She has these awesome flashcards, made it so much easier.” 

Alex purses her lips, but doesn’t say anything else and goes back to picking at her food. Cafeteria salad. Yum. She should’ve just gotten an apple or something. At least _they’re_ edible.

The cafeteria isn’t busy for once and to be fair, it’s been a slow day as far as surgeries go; for her at least. Save for a few consults, she’s not had much to do other than oversee one of her residents going solo for the first time. Maggie, on the other hand, has been in and out of the OR all day, bless her, doing her best to fix the mangled arms and legs of a bunch of fucking idiots. Her words, not Alex’s. Apparently a bunch of frat boys thought it’d be an absolutely genius idea to jump from the roof of their frat house into the pool in their backyard. Obviously it had a success rate of about zero percent. Maggie swears one of them burst into tears when she told him he’d have at least one big-ass scar. Serves him right.

Maggie barely has a chance to take another bite into her burger before her pager goes off for what seems like the millionth time in the past seven hours. With a groan and after shooting an apologetic smile at Alex she drags herself away from her precious food. She takes half a step towards the exit before swivelling back around to plant a brief, but firm kiss on Alex’s startled lips.

“For luck,” Maggie says smugly. Alex smacks her arm and shoos her away. _Worth it_ , Maggie thinks as she’s walking away.

*** *** ***

It’s the gaggle of doctors crowded around one patient that peaks Kara’s curiosity as she passes through the ER.

“Window washer. Fell from the sixth floor scaffolding. Obvious open tibia and fibula fracture, but otherwise okay,” Kara overhears someone say.

“It’s amazing. Equal breath sounds. After a six storey fall, he’s got equal breast sounds!” It’s Dr Roy Harper. He looks just as baffled as his interns. “This is really unbelievable.” He sees Kara. “Dr Danvers, would you like to hear – just to double check?”

“I believe you, but I’m curious myself. You’re a very lucky man, Mr Hollis,” Kara says to the patient. Dr Harper’s right. Equal breath sounds on both sides; it’s a miracle this man is alive, let alone sitting up in bed and chatting happily with the interns.

“Dr Harper, could you palpate his abdomen for me, please?”

“Does this hurt anywhere?” Roy asks.

“Nope,” Stuart Hollis says, more than a little confused when all the doctors around him stare a little in amazement.

“I’m sorry,” Kara jumps in. “We don’t all mean to stare, sir, it’s just that you fell six stories and you only injured your leg.”

The man doesn’t look reassured at all, but he allows the doctors to roll him onto his side. There are splattered feathers on his back as well as dried blood.

“Oh,” Kara says, trying not to look as grossed out as she feels.

“Are these feathers?” Dr Harper asks.

“Order some x-rays and after that you might want to get in there and look for the rest of Tweety,” Kara tells him, clapping him on the back.

Roy picks up a feather and looks at it for a moment before whispering, “Yeah, thanks.” Kara doesn’t think he could sound more dejected if he tried.

“You’re welcome. Now get to it. Page Queen and Luthor if anything turns up on the x-rays.”

Such a weird day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oblivious!Alex is what I live for. I had a friend at uni who was just like that; literally everything went over her head. I got away with murder over the course of three years lol


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little all over the place with the chapter lengths at the moment, but I think this is a decent enough length? Anyway, hope you like the next installment!

Kara is smiling stupidly at her phone – a text from Lena - when the EMTs burst through the ER’s doors.

“Suspected deep vein thrombosis,” one of them tells her once he’s handed her the chart. Kara skim reads it, but there’s hardly anything there. She frowns.

“There’s nothing here except her age and her blood type,” Kara mutters unhappily, flicking through the mostly blank pages.  The girl is fighting against the restraints that keep her tied to the stretcher. “And are those really necessary? She’s sixteen for god’s sake.”

“It was an emergency landing. We got there, stabilised her and then they,” the paramedic says, pointing to the two guards that stand a little to the side, “radioed ahead, suggesting that we keep her segregated in an ER room.”

“Is she contagious or something?” Kara asks.

“Female, 16, AB-negative. That’s all we got Dr Danvers.”

“Okay, okay. Let me see what we’re dealing with before we do anything.”

“You not gonna sedate her?” One of the guards asks. The woman is stocky and glaring something fierce at the girl who hasn’t stopped fighting the ER doctors since they arrived a few minutes ago. “She didn’t get transferred to five juvie facilities in nine months ‘cause she’s Miss Congeniality.”

Kara ignores that last remark and tries to get a read on the girl’s pupils. The girl’s continuous moving makes it harder than it should be. “How long was the flight?”

“Three hours from Charderjian.”

“Was she wearing restraints the entire time?” Kara asks.

“Why’s that matter?” The other woman grunts, placing her hands on her hips.

“Restraints make DVT a greater risk, and then it’s boom – straight to the lungs.” The woman, whose name tag reads Nash, stares blankly at her. Kara almost rolls her eyes. “That’s bad. So tell me, how long has she been restrained?”

“She was cuffed for at least two hours before the flight,” Nash grunts again.

“Let me go! Let me go! I didn’t do nothing!” The girl screams.

“…And then on the plane, we uh, taped her to her seat.”

“With duct tape?” Kara almost smiles.

“It’s multifunctional.” At least the girl’s wrists aren’t bleeding. It’s something, at least.

“Ok, we’re going to take it from here. Could you wait in the waiting room for me, please? I can’t have you in here,” Kara says.

“Sedate her before you examine her.”

Kara shakes her head. “She’s no use to me if she’s sedated. Let’s lift her in one, two, three… And lift.”

“Don’t touch me! Get away from me!”

“What’s her name?” Nash continues to stare blankly at her. Kara sighs. “Look, she may be your prisoner, but right now she’s my patient and I can’t examine her if she’s in restraints. So, I’m gonna ask again – what’s her name?”

“Lily Ashcroft,” Nash grumbles. “I don’t want you risking your life here, doc.”

“Just get them off for me and go wait in the waiting room.”

Nash removes the cuffs begrudgingly, pausing to send Lily one last glare before she dutifully follows her fellow guard to the waiting room, just barely out of sight. Kara breathes a sigh of relief.

“It’s just you and me, Lily, ok? Want to tell me how you hurt your ankle?” Lily groans and mutters something incoherently.

“What did you inject me with?” the girl asks groggily. The machine beeps begins to beep erratically. “It hurts, my leg… my leg is killing me.”

Kara nods, palpating the area around the girl’s lower thigh. “Ok, I’m just going to grab an ultrasound to double check, but I’m fairly certain you’ve got a blockage that’s clogging up your vein.”  

Kara has barely turned around when she feels something tightly wrap itself around her throat. Her hands instinctively reach up to try and loosen the grip of the IV tube and claw at her attacker, but her vision is beginning to fade and tunnel. Kara kicks at the instruments on the side table by Lily’s bed, sending them clattering to the floor and the noise is thankfully loud enough to alert the guards standing vigilantly in the waiting room. She’s not sure what happens next; all Kara knows is that she’s able to breathe again. Her legs buckle beneath her, pain shooting to her knees as they make contact with the hard floor. _Fuck_ that hurts.

Kara vaguely knows there’s someone kneeling next to her, asking her things, but everything’s beginning to look and feel a little fuzzy. Her brain hurts just thinking about it. It’s fine, she’s fine. She just needs to stand up and whoa, ok. Bad idea. She’s just going to close her eyes for a second. There we go, much better already.

“Dr Danvers, can you hear me?” Shhhhhh, Kara’s trying to sleep. Go away.

“She’ll be fine, a little bruised for a while but she’s fine. She just needs to wake up.”

Kara’s eyes snap open and it takes a second or two for her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the lights in the ER. There’s two figures standing above her and someone behind her helping her sit up, but everything’s still a little blurry. She can’t quite make out who it is.

“Kara, are you ok?” It’s Alex, she thinks.

She blinks and slowly, but surely she can start to make out Alex’s short, cropped hair and her dark eyes peering worriedly at her from her crouched over position.

“Yeah, I think so,” Kara says, still feeling a little unsteady. Her throat burns like you wouldn’t believe and it hurts to talk.

Alex helps her stand, lending a shoulder for Kara to lean on and it’s when Kara sees Lily back in her bed with the restraints firmly in place and Nash at her side. Lily’s head is lolling to the side, drool slipping from the corner of her mouth. Heavily sedated then.

And that’s when it dawns on her. No… Lily? Really?

“I’m taking you for a head CT, you’re still a little out of it.”

Kara wants to object, but from the look of sheer determination on her sister’s face, she knows there’s no point in arguing so she lets her acquiesces without much of a fight. Kara doesn’t think she hit her head? She draws the line at the wheelchair though, there’s absolutely no need for that. She’s _fine_ , just a little sore.

As predicted the CT scan doesn’t show anything other than a perfectly healthy brain and Alex does have the grace to thank the lab tech, albeit a little sheepishly because she _had_ spent a good ten minutes glaring at him until she got the results back.

“See, I’m good to go. Now I have a patient to-“

“Kara, the girl tried to kill you. Let someone else do it.”

Kara smiles and pats her sister on the back. “I’m a doctor and the head of paediatrics. No one but me is going to be looking after that girl. Besides I’m fine, no harm done.”

“You mean besides the big ass bruise you have on your neck? Yes, Kara I’m sure you’re just fine.”  

“I’ve had worse and you know it,” Kara says, rolling her eyes. “Look, I need to get back to work. I’ll see you later, kay? I promise I’m fine.”

“You page me if you feel nauseous at all, alright?”

“I promise,” Kara assures her with one final squeeze on her arm.

***** *** *** *****

Nash finds her a short while later filling in the much dreaded paperwork.

“If this is an accurate version of events, you can just sign right here,” Nash says and she places a clipboard atop Kara’s messy stack of papers.

Kara looks it over, but she can’t find much fault in it. And to be fair, she didn’t even _know_ it was Lily who had attacked her. She sighs.

“Yeah, the hospital has had me fill one in as well.”

“A taser delivers 50,000 volts, but I think the paperwork’s much worse.” Kara similes in agreement.

“Thank you, by the way. For saving my life,” Kara says.

“I would say ‘I told you so’, but I don’t think it’s professional. You’re welcome, Dr Danvers,” Nash says before walking away. Kara is left standing there, mouth slightly agape.

She turns her eyes back to her charts and god, some of her residents really need to work on their handwriting. There is some truth to the old adage that doctors have terrible calligraphy, but this is ridiculous and… barely legible.

“Winn, page Dr Allen and tell him to please rewrite the charts for 612, 613 and 615.  I can’t get through this.”

“Sure, Kara. Are you ok by the way? I heard what happened in the ER.” She knows he means well, but seriously?

“I’m fine, Winn but I really don’t want to talk about it. Just get Dr Allen up here as soon as possible.”

“Oookay then. These came through for you by the way.”

Ah, it’s Lily Ashcroft’s lab results and from a brief glance it’s not looking too good, but without a full history there’s isn’t much she can do besides send the girl up for more tests. Kara lingers outside of Lily’s door, not wanting to disturb her sleep and splits her attention between looking at Lily’s updated chart and sneaking glances at the ever stoic officer Nash.

“You do know hospital’s just a vacation for them, right?” Nash says after a few moments.

“She’s hardly faking it,” Kara replies. She may, apparently, not be the best judge of character, but she can definitely tell the difference between a real patient and someone who’s faking it.

“She may have a point,” Dr Allen says. He too is looking over her distinct lack of medical history with a frown.

Kara shakes her head in disagreement.

“Granted, her D-Dimer’s a little high,” he admits, “but her fibrin levels were always going to be high with a broken ankle.”

Kara shakes her head once more. “No, her Wells level is a seven, we don’t have much of a choice. Could you take her up to CT angio for me and then page me as soon as you’re done?”

“Of course, Dr Danvers,” Barry says, smile back in place. “Oh, and I’m glad you’re ok by the way!”

***** *** *****

Saying Kara’s feeling better is a bit of an understatement, but that may have something to do with the way Lena is delivering such mind-numbingly good kisses down the side of the throat and nipping and sucking at the sensitive skin there.

She’s totally on board for the making out in the on-call rooms and she can definitely see why so many of her residents are doing it. It’s distracting and oh god, it feels amazing and it’s _so_ what Kara needs right now. Of course, Lena had spent a troubling amount of time worriedly looking over her throat and double checking both her pupil and nerve responses (Kara’s pretty sure she didn’t hit her head?), but regardless of that Kara’s absolutely enjoying the attention and Lena playing doctor with _her_? So, so hot.  

“I-I have to go check on my patient. _Right there, oh my god_. But I do really need to check on my person, she could be- _oh_.”

 “You sure about that?” Lena whispers against the shell of Kara’s ear.

Kara whimpers, but nods and Lena sighs, giving her one last lingering kiss. “But that, that will definitely be happening again, Dr Luthor.”

“Is that so, Dr Danvers? I’ll be more than happy to provide your regular check up.”

Kara’s oh so tempted to say fuck it and give Lena a thorough examination of her own, but she does need to check on her patient. Her residents can’t be left on their own for too long and god forbid, she leave the interns to their own devices. All hell would break loose.

“As much as I’d love that, I do have to go.”  Lena’s eyes soften and Kara can’t resist cupping the other woman’s cheek and pulling her down for another kiss. And another, and another.

A pager beeps.

“And I do believe that’s my cue,” Kara says. “Thank you, by the way. You are wonderful and that’s exactly what I needed.”

Lena smiles and gives Kara’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Anytime. I really am glad you’re ok, Kara. Are you free tonight?”

“I’m on call, but I should be able to leave by 7?”

“Excellent. I want to cook for you tonight so meet me in the lobby at 7:15?”

Kara smiles. “It’s a date.”  Her pager beeps again and she sighs, running her fingers through her messy hair. “I’ve really got to go.”

“Go and save lives, Kara. I’ll see you later.” Lena kisses her one last time and god, this woman. This amazing woman. Kara could easily do this for the rest of her life. And… she really needs to tell Alex.

“Talk to me,” Kara says as soon as she enters Lily’s room. The girl is pale and the monitors are beeping somewhat erratically.

“Her blood pressure’s dropping through the floor. She’s desatting,” Winn says.

“Lily, I’m just going to do a brief examination, ok? I’m just going to lift your gown and see what’s going on.”

There’s blood staining the sheets. Not good, not good.

“Kara, look at the colour of the blood.”

“I know, I know. Ok, push through 2mg of IV vitamin k and let’s initiate massive transfusion protocols.”

There are tears streaming down Lily’s cheeks as she clutches her stomach in pain.

“Lily, did you know you were pregnant?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the medical jibberish form this chapter is taken from Saving Hope, which is also a pretty badass show. It's like the Canadian version of Grey's Anatomy, except without all the unecessary drama (I think - I'm on season two so I don't know for sure). Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so uhm, yeah. I'm not dead. I know I said I'd update sometime around Christmas, but then life, shitty and cheating ex-girlfriends happened. This is really short and unfortunately incredibly angsty, but also kinda (maybe) cute? I really appreciate all your kind words these past few months. All of your comments made me smile, so really, thank you :)

**Chapter 10**

Lena’s apartment is exactly how Kara pictured it, all smooth lines and designer furniture. It’s this huge open space and Kara _loves_ it. The view alone must have cost a fortune as she can see almost all of National City from up here.

The kitchen takes up all of the right side of the apartment and at first glance looks to be top of the line, from the absolutely massive fridge to the spacious breakfast bar where Kara can admittedly see herself eating an inordinate amount of food.

Kara lightly caresses the surface of the glossy white kitchen island, made of some kind of stone that she can’t quite pin point, but she wouldn’t be terribly surprised if it was marble. Lena definitely seemed the type.

Speaking of Lena, Kara notices that she’s barely moved from the doorway to the apartment and seems quite happy to let Kara take it with an amused smile.

She’s hanging her coat on the rack when she calls out, “Do you like it?”

“It’s stunning. How long have you lived here?” Kara asks, sitting herself down on a bar stool.

“A little over a year. I… needed a change.”

Kara turns around at that, brows furrowed. Lena’s shoulders have slumped slightly as she makes her way over to the kitchen island.

Kara holds her hand out. “C’mere.”

Lena obliges and steps willingly in the space just between Kara’s legs. Immediately she feels Kara’s arms lock around her waist. It’s enough to make the smile return to her face.

“I don’t like seeing you upset,” Kara murmurs quietly, drawing soothing circles along the small of the other woman’s back. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but if you do; I’ll happily listen and happily kick this person’s ass. I’m quite handy with a scalpel, you know.”

Lena chuckles. “I appreciate the sentiment, Kara but I’m quite certain even your skills with a scalpel can’t reach into Arkham.”

At Kara’s questioning look, she continues. “My brother? Did you not hear about this in Metropolis?”

Kara shakes her head and Lena sighs so softly, Kara almost doesn’t catch it. “I’m not the only doctor in my family. We all are, in fact. My mother- _adoptive mother_ is also a neurosurgeon, my father was quite the famous general surgeon in his day and Lex, well… They said he was going to be one of the best and he was… for a time.”

“Lena, we don’t have to talk about it if-“

“No, no. It’s fine, I thought you already knew so I suppose it doesn’t really matter… I was very young when the Luthors adopted me. So young I barely remember my biological mother and it was very hard not to like Lionel and Lex. Lex was everything an older brother should’ve been and I loved him for it. I… still do.”

The look on Lena’s face is something Kara never wants to see again. Her heart aches.

“He was the first person I came out to and he was so supportive.” Lena smiles a watery smile. It’s bittersweet. “The first thing he did was to offer to take me to a gay bar – bear in mind I was 16 at the time. Not entirely legal, but still. By the time he finished his residency, there were already rumours of Harper Averys and naturally, my parents were very proud, but then it all just seemed to go wrong. It was malpractice after malpractice suit and when I found out why I couldn’t just… They were children, Kara, _children_ , so I reported him and I testified against him. Very nearly ruined my own career in the process, but it would’ve been so worth it. The things he did…” Lena shakes her head and steps out of Kara’s grip. “You honestly didn’t know about this, who I am, who my family is?”

“No,” Kara admits sheepishly. “I think I was too caught up in my boards to notice anything else going on in the world, I rarely ever left the hospital, but Lena this doesn’t change how I feel about you. If anything, it just makes me admire you even more.”

Kara stands up and pulls Lena back towards her, cupping her cheeks. She wipes away any stray tears with the pad of her thumbs and stares into red, puffy eyes. “You, Lena Luthor, are nothing short of incredible and exactly who I thought you were. To have that kind of courage of conviction, that strength of character… it’s kinda unfair to us mere mortals how perfect you are.”

Lena laughs and Kara counts that as a small victory as she pulls the slightly taller woman into a hug. Even with the height disparity, Lena tucks her chin into the crook of Kara’s neck as Kara steadies them.

“When Lex was arrested, my mother was there. My mother saw her son dragged and bleeding and raving from the house,” Kara kisses the top of her head encouragingly and tightens her hold, “and when I got there, Lilian was tidying his room as if nothing was wrong, like he’d just gone to a conference… She wouldn’t- _couldn’t_ look at me and she still can’t. Loss does strange things to my family.”

“You’re not going to lose me,” Kara whispers into her hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” And she seals it with the sweetest of kisses.

*** *** *** ***

Things are different between them after that conversation. Not in a bad way, Kara thinks. They’re closer, much more so and suddenly everything makes sense. The suspicious glances thrown in Lena’s direction when she walks by in the halls, her isolation from most of the other doctors in the hospital, and, Kara supposes, Alex’s thorough dislike of her.

She couldn’t see it at first, how much the rejection and distrust from her peers hurt Lena, but now that she’s been given a glimpse into the all of the hurt behind the mask, well, Kara’s made it her personal mission to make the woman smile as much as possible, even if that means making an absolute fool of herself in the process.

All of the “You’re such a dork” comments are worth it. And, let’s be honest, Kara’s quite proud of her nerd status. She’ll be a proud Hufflepuff until the day she dies.

(Lena can deny it all she wants, but that green and silver scarf Kara had spotted in her closet once was 100% a Slytherin scarf)

A few more weeks trickle by and for the most part they’re quiet. Kara’s caseload doesn’t budge, but making the tiny humans better make her happy. Seeing Alex and Maggie together makes her happy and, just as importantly, or perhaps more so, seeing Lena Luthor secretely geek out at the latest Game of Thrones trailer makes her heart burst.

Alex is no less suspicious of her sister’s “friendship” with Lena, but at this point Kara just thinks she’s just jealous of the amount of time they spend together. Schedules permitting, Sister Nights are still a regular occurrence and Maggie is more than happy to hang out with Lena at her place instead, especially once she saw the size of the neurosurgeon’s flatscreen.

“ _You don’t understand, Kara. I can finally watch soccer with someone who appreciates it as much as me on a big screen_.”

Kara pretended not to notice the sudden blush that had taken over Lena’s cheeks at that.

It’s during her second month that Kara loses her first patient. It was an impossible case to begin with, a pancreatoblastoma in a little girl of four that had already metastatized beyond anything that Kara could repair in time. A fool’s hope, but she tried and it just wasn’t enough.

Lena holds her and whispers all the sweet nothings she can think of as Kara cries into her navy blue scrubs. It doesn’t completely soothe the void and the absolute ache Kara feels in her chest, but it helps and that’s when Kara first think she knows.

Kara no longer feels the flutters of butterfly wings in her stomach, it’s closer to a swarm and any time Lena so much as looks at her with those soft and so incredibly expressive green eyes, she’s closer to putting that feeling into that four letter word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully it's not too awful? I'm a little rusty. I'm hoping the next chapter will be out much sooner and will be much longer. As always, let me know what you think and let's keep the ship alive!

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I borrowed some of the dialogue from the show, mostly because all I know about medicine comes from this show. Whoops.


End file.
